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Complaint to your energy supplier about bills, back-billing or meters (Great Britain)
England, Scotland and Wales · in English · for consumers
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12 questions · about 5 min
Made for use in England, Scotland and Wales
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For a household customer in England, Wales or Scotland with a problem with their gas or electricity supplier: a wrong or estimated bill, a catch-up bill for energy used more than 12 months ago, a meter fault or poor service. The letter is the formal complaint the supplier must deal with; if it is not resolved within eight weeks, or you get a deadlock letter, you can take it free to the Energy Ombudsman. Send it by email or first class post, and keep the date.
- Made for use in England, Scotland and Wales
- Last updated October 28, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- Your energy supplier in England, Wales or Scotland sent a huge catch-up bill going back years.
- You keep getting estimated bills that have nothing to do with your meter readings.
- Your smart meter is faulty and the supplier will not send anyone.
- You want a formal complaint to your gas or electricity supplier before the ombudsman.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Energy or gas supplier
- Energy supplier's postal address
- Account number
- Supply address (where the energy is used)
- What the complaint is about
- Requested outcome
- Period a catch-up bill covers (leave empty if none)
Common questions
- How long must I wait before taking an energy complaint to the Energy Ombudsman?
- Eight weeks from when you first complained, or less if the supplier sends a deadlock letter saying it can do no more. You then have 12 months to go to the Energy Ombudsman, which is free. The government said in June 2026 that it plans to cut the wait to six weeks; until that change is made, eight weeks applies.
- What is back-billing, and when does the 12-month limit protect me?
- If your supplier bills you late for energy you used more than 12 months earlier, the back-billing rule stops it charging you for that older energy when the delay was its fault, for example a missing bill or a wrong meter reading it should have caught. It does not protect you if you blocked meter readings or ignored requests for access.
- Can I use this letter for a water bill, or in Northern Ireland?
- No. It is for gas and electricity in England, Wales and Scotland. Water companies have their own complaint route, and Northern Ireland has its own energy regulator and consumer council. Your supplier's own complaint form, phone line or online chat is free too and starts the same eight weeks; keep a note of the date.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
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