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Case ref:201609660
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Date:December 2017
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Body:Business Stream
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Sector:Water
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Outcome:Some upheld, recommendations
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Subject:policy/administration
Summary
Mr C is the secretary for a business. Mr C complained that Business Stream had failed to notify the business of their increased water usage, that they had failed to properly investigate the cause of the issue and that they did not deal with his complaint in line with their procedures.
We found that, once they had become aware of the high water usage, Business Stream did make appropriate contact with the business to alert them of this. We received evidence of the call that was made to the business, and we also noted that the business received invoices that illustrated high meter readings. We also found that Business Stream took appropriate action in investigating the cause of the leak, in line with their responsibilities, and that they contacted Scottish Water to investigate the issue further when it was appropriate. We did not uphold these aspects of Mr C's complaint.
However, we found that Business Stream did not advise Mr C clearly of his rights to escalate his complaint to stage two of the complaints procedure. We also found that they failed to issue Mr C with a final response to his complaint. We, therefore, upheld this part of Mr C's complaint.
Recommendations
In relation to complaints handling, we recommended:
- Communication regarding a customer's complaint should clearly explain the stage at which the customer's complaint is being handled. Staff should also ensure that customers have received a final response to their complaint before referring them to SPSO.
We have asked the organisation to provide us with evidence that they have implemented the recommendations we have made on this case by the deadline we set.