Decision report 201102014

Summary
Mr C complained that Business Stream had failed to install a temporary water connection that he had applied for on a building site. He had to obtain water for the development from another site. Business Stream have to refer applications for connections for building water to Scottish Water for the connection to be made. However, in this case Business Stream were the licensed provider and were responsible for handling the application.

We upheld part of Mr C's complaint. Although it was Scottish Water who failed to install the temporary connection, we found that that Business Stream had failed to adequately monitor Mr C's application or keep him updated. There was clearly a communication failure between Business Stream and Scottish Water. Business Stream were not aware that the connection had not been installed until Mr C contacted them about this several months later.

Mr C also complained that Business Stream failed to respond appropriately to his request for a refund. If we decide that someone has suffered because of something an organisation has done wrong, we will ask that organisation to put the person in the position they would have been in had they been dealt with correctly in the first place. However, we would only do so where there is demonstrable loss or costs. Although Business Stream had not refunded all of the money that Mr C had paid, we were satisfied that they had taken steps to put him back in the position he would have been in had the failing not occurred. We considered that their response to Mr C's request for a refund had been reasonable.

Recommendation
We recommended that Business Stream:
• ensure that there is now an adequate process in place for monitoring the new connection applications that they are responsible for handling.