When you first contact us, depending on your complaint, we may provide you with information or advice. It is most likely that at this stage we will refer you back to your service provider to allow them another attempt to resolve your complaint.
If your issue remains unresolved after you have been referred back to your service provider, or if you have already made extensive attempts to resolve the matter but without success, we will open a file and commence an investigation into your matter. This is known as a Level 1 Complaint.
At the Level 1 stage, we advise you in writing of the process we follow in conducting an investigation. In parallel we contact your service provider to advise that you have made a complaint to the Ombudsman, and setting out the details of your complaint. Your service provider will have a specified timeframe to provide us with information about the circumstances that led to your complaint and any suggestions it may have about how to resolve the matter.
If we need to seek independent technical advice we will do so. There will be no cost to you, as an Ombudsman investigation is a free service to residential and small business customers. Depending on the complexity of the issues raised, your case may progress to a Level 2 Complaint.
Our aim is to find a resolution to your complaint that is acceptable to both you and your service provider. If this can't be achieved, we will make a decision about whether there is sufficient information to support your case and hence continue our investigation, or whether we believe we cannot proceed any further. If this is the case, we will provide you with reasons for our decision.
If, at the end of our investigation, you and your service provider cannot agree on a resolution, the Ombudsman may decide to make a binding decision on your case. This may occur after your complaint has gone to Level 3. If a binding decision is made, it will be based on what is fair and reasonable in the circumstances, taking into account good industry practice and relevant law. You will be able to either accept or reject the binding decision; however it will be binding on the service provider if you accept it. We will provide you with more information if your case reaches this point.
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