Bristol City Council (202307720)

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202307720

Bristol City Council

31 January 2025

Our approach

The Housing Ombudsman’s approach to investigating and determining complaints is to decide what is fair in all the circumstances of the case. This is set out in the Housing Act 1996 and the Housing Ombudsman Scheme (the Scheme). The Ombudsman considers the evidence and looks to see if there has been any ‘maladministration’, for example whether the landlord has failed to keep to the law, followed proper procedure, followed good practice or behaved in a reasonable and competent manner.

Both the resident and the landlord have submitted information to the Ombudsman and this has been carefully considered. Their accounts of what has happened are summarised below. This report is not an exhaustive description of all the events that have occurred in relation to this case, but an outline of the key issues as a background to the investigation’s findings.

The complaint

The complaint is about the landlord’s response to the resident’s request for information regarding her energy usage and billing.
The Ombudsman has also considered the landlord’s complaint handling.

Background

The resident is a secure tenant of the property, which she has occupied since May 2018. The property is a 1-bedroom, ground floor property, which she occupies with her husband. The landlord is a local authority.
On 6 February 2023 the resident contacted the landlord following receipt of a bill for her heating and hot water usage covering the period of April 2021 to March 2022. She disputed the gas bill because she said she had no clear understanding of the costs, charges, payments and how she could monitor her energy use. She wanted to know:
1. why it had taken the landlord so long to issue the bill
2. how much she was paying for fixed charges, tariffs and unit rates
3. how much she was paying for service charge for gas supply
4. how prices were set, which supplier the landlord used and how she was billed
5. if she had a heating contract with the landlord
6. when the landlord had taken the meter reading for the bill for April 2021 – March 2022
7. if the landlord agreed that she could not read or understand the meters in her property
8. the meter reading taken by the landlord’s officer 18 months previously
9. the landlord to provide an accurate unit charge for heating, hot water and service charges for the year in question and the current year
10. the landlord to provide a breakdown regarding her payments made for the gas supply which she paid weekly
11. how much energy she was using
Upon not receiving a response, the resident made a formal complaint on 16 February 2023. She enclosed a copy of her email from 6 February 2023 and asked the landlord to respond to her questions.
On 17 March 2023 the landlord sent its stage 1 response in which it responded to each of the resident’s questions as follows:
1. It normally sent communal heating and hot water bills out to residents in November or December each year. There had been another 6 weeks delay in sending the resident’s bill due to address issues on its contractor systems. Following this the landlord had requested the bills were corrected before it sent the bills to residents. The landlord said it was working with the contractor to ensure future bills were delivered in a timelier manner.
2. It provided the name of its energy supplier for gas and explained that its energy supplier team managed the contract. It said this gas was for communal heat systems for laundries etc. and not gas supplied to individual houses or properties. The landlord also provided details of the unit charges and how it worked this out, together with the fixed standing charge.
3. It had a heating and hot water contract with another contractor who collected the data from the heat meters. Any resident whose heat was supplied by communal gas heating would be subject to this contract to ensure their bills were correct.
4. It had taken the meter reading for the bill from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022 in March 2021. The landlord explained that it had taken the manual reading due to network issues, which it had resolved. From 1 April 2021 the landlord’s contractor had been able to take remote readings.
5. It would ask its contractor to provide a leaflet or booklet user guide to send to the resident to assist her with reading and understanding the meter in her property.
6. The meter reading taken in June 2021 had been 6788 kw/hr.
7. The unit charge for the year in question was on the bill. The current years charges had not been set because the landlord needed to know the years gas consumption so that it could calculate the unit cost.
8. The landlord referred the resident to its rent management team to obtain information relating to her weekly gas payments. It explained that the pre-payments for the financial year were on the resident’s bill.
9. It advised the resident’s usage was on the heat meter and the user guide would include instructions of how to read this.
On 25 March 2023 the resident informed the landlord that she was unsatisfied by its complaint response and would like it to escalate her complaint to stage 2. She felt the landlord had not addressed all the points she had raised. She said she was still confused by the charges. She asked the landlord some supplemental questions, as follows:
1. Why there was an 8-month delay from the end of the financial year to the landlord sending out the heating bills in November/December.
2. Did she have a communal heating charge as an individual with her own meter installed.
3. If the contractor read individual meters and, if so, how often. If it was heating / hot water or both. She asked to see the readings and wanted to know how she could monitor this in the future to ensure the landlord was recording her usage accurately.
4. She said the landlord should have provided her with information on how to read her meter sooner. She asked the landlord to confirm when she would receive the user guide.
5. With regards to the meter reading from June 2021, she said that this did not make sense with the unit charged on the resident’s current bill. She asked the landlord to provide an explanation how the reading related to her bill.
6. Her current bill showed a total amount for heating pre-payments. The resident asked if the landlord could provide this as a weekly or monthly amount.
7. She could not check her usage via the heat meters, which she stated was not acceptable, especially in the cost of living and fuel crisis.
The resident explained that she would like the landlord to provide her with a clear and accurate gas bill detailing charges for hot water separate to heating. She also said that she would like to be able to read the meter in her property so that she could check on her usage.
On 25 April 2023 the landlord sent its stage 2 response in which it said it had provided detailed answers to the resident’s questions about communal heating charges at stage 1. With regards to the resident’s additional questions the landlord responded as follows:
1. It had explained the reason for the delay in its stage 1 response.
2. There were no communal radiators in the resident’s building for which resident was charged. In buildings with communal heating, individual properties do not have a boiler. Each property had its own radiators and hot water, supplied from a shared/communal boiler.
  1. The system in the resident’s property had sensors which measured the amount of heat the property had drawn from the system. The landlord calculated bills by using the information, plus data such as the property size, number of external walls etc.
  2. The landlord paid the supplier for the cost of the gas used in the shared/communal boiler and that cost was recovered by charging residents for the amount of heating/hot water they used.
3. The contractor was able to monitor the meters 24/7 and it captured live data via the portal. The resident was able to access the portal for her own use. The landlord said it had requested that an account was set up for the resident and enclosed a screenshot to confirm this.
4. The landlord said it had enclosed a user guide and referred the resident to page 44 of this, which it said gave information on meter readings. It said the heat meter only gave basic information, which was then broken down onto the portal.
5. The detailed information the resident had requested would be available to her via the portal.
6. It was unable to breakdown the resident’s bills into detail to show weekly or monthly pre-payment amounts. This information would be included in the breakdown of charges the resident paid with her weekly rent. If she required more information regarding her service charges the resident could contact the rent management team.
7. The landlord divided the fixed costs by the 8 properties in the resident’s building.
In conclusion the landlord acknowledged there had been a delay in sending the communal bills and apologised for this. It said that it could not uphold the resident’s complaint about lack of information provided because it felt it had answered her detailed questions and provided information in its complaint responses. It also said it had provided the resident with access to the portal so that she could view live data.
In communication with this service the resident said she could not read the meter in her property and therefore could not monitor her energy usage, against what the landlord had billed her for. She said the landlord had not given her any information on how to read the meter when it installed the meter. Further to this she said the information the landlord had provided as part of her complaint had not been helpful and had been difficult to understand. As an outcome she would like to be able to have access to accurate and clear information in relation to her energy usage and billing.

Assessment and findings

Scope of the investigation

The resident has informed this service that she did not receive any instructions or information on how to monitor her heating usage when the landlord installed the individual meters. The resident said this was around 2020. In the interest of fairness, this report will focus on events from February 2023 onwards, which is when the resident raised her complaint, and whether the landlord’s actions were fair and reasonable in all the circumstances. We may describe events from earlier than February 2023 where they provide important context.

The landlord’s response to the resident’s request for information regarding her energy usage and billing

When a resident raises a request with a landlord, the Ombudsman expects the landlord to consider this, and provide a timely and clear response, setting out its position. In this case, the resident lived in a block where space heating and hot water were provided by a district heating system. The property was a new build when the resident moved in. Residents are billed annually for the heating and hot water used. They pay a weekly prepayment amount via the service charge, which is offset against the annual bill.
When the resident received her bill in February 2023, it showed a total amount of units used and unit cost for heating and fixed costs. The resident wanted to be able to check these amounts against her meter readings to ensure that they corresponded with each other. She was unable to do this because she did not know how to read the meter in her property. She contacted the landlord to request an explanation in relation to the bill and how she could monitor her usage in the future.
The landlord provided detailed responses to the resident’s questions around its contract arrangements and how it calculated the bills which was, in our opinion, appropriate.
In its stage 1 response it said it would ask its contractor for a user guide to help the resident understand how to read her meter. While we have not seen a copy of this, the resident confirmed to this service that she received a leaflet, but it related to reducing her energy usage and did not provide any guidance on how she could read her meter or monitor her energy usage in the future.
In its stage 2 response the landlord enclosed a user guide and referred the resident to page 44 of this, which it said related to meter readings. Having considered this guide, this was an installation guide intended for use by a professional when installing the system. It was not a user guide for residents. This was not reasonable because it did not include information on how to read the meter or how to monitor energy usage, which is what the resident had requested.
The landlord also referred to its contractor’s online portal in its stage 2 response, which it said would provide the resident with the detailed information she required. The landlord sent the resident an activation email for the portal. This was appropriate and consistent with the landlord’s procedure. However, the resident has informed us that she found this too complicated and did not proceed with the activation.
According to the Ombudsman’s spotlight report on heating and hot water from February 2021, landlords must provide clear information about the heating arrangements before the start of the tenancy and again if this changes. Residents should know their rights and obligations and the cost of the heating service. In this case, while it was appropriate that the landlord provide the resident with access to the online portal at stage 2 of the complaint procedure, it is our opinion that it should have provided this access much sooner. It would appear that the resident only became aware that such a service was available when she made a complaint. This was not appropriate and a failure by the landlord.
In summary, there were failures by the landlord in the information it provided to the resident as part of its complaint responses. This resulted in her not being able to monitor her energy usage or check what the landlord was billing her for was correct. These failures were as follows:
1. the guidance sent to the resident at stage 2 was technical and unclear
2. it delayed in providing the resident with access to the online portal so that she could monitor her energy usage
We consider these points to amount to service failure.
The Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, which is available online, provides awards of compensation between £50 and £100 when there is evidence of a service failure by the landlord which may not have significantly affected the overall outcome for the resident. The Ombudsman has therefore made an order that the landlord pay the resident £100 compensation to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for information regarding her energy usage and billing.

The landlord’s complaint handling

The landlord operates a 2-stage complaint process. At stage 1, the landlord will acknowledge the complaint within 3 working days and will provide its response within 15 working days. At stage 2, the landlord will acknowledge escalation of the complaint within 3 working days and provide its response within 15 working days.
This service’s Complaint Handling Code (the Code) (2022) sets out the Ombudsman’s expectations for how landlords should manage complaints. This includes an expectation that landlords will:
1. respond to complaints at stage 1 within 10 working days
2. respond to escalations at stage 2 within 20 working days
The resident raised her initial complaint on 16 February 2023, which the landlord acknowledged and informed her it would provide its response by 9 March 2023. The resident contacted the landlord on 10 March 2023 to inform it she had not received a response to her complaint. Paragraph 5.1 of the Code outlines that landlords can extend the response date by a further 10 days. If an extension is required the landlord must provide an explanation to the resident and include a clear timeframe when it will respond. The landlord did not do this in this case which resulted in the resident having to chase it for a response. This was not appropriate because it was not consistent with the Code.
The landlord provided its stage 1 response on 17 March 2023, which was 22 working days after the resident’s complaint. This was not appropriate because it was not consistent with the landlord’s policy or the Code.
The resident escalated her complaint on 25 March 2023 and the landlord provided its stage 2 response on 25 April 2023, which was 21 working days after the resident’s escalation. This was technically a failure because the landlord did not respond within its timeframe. However, compared to what we would have expected in the Code, the impact of 1 day delay would not have adversely affected the resident.
Overall, there were failings in the landlord’s complaint handling. The landlord’s failure to respond to the resident’s initial complaint in line with its complaint’s procedure meant it missed an opportunity to address her concerns sooner. This left the resident waiting for a resolution to her concerns. While the landlord has apologised for the delay, it failed to put matters right by addressing all the resident’s concerns at the earliest opportunity and taking steps to put things right. The Ombudsman has therefore ordered the landlord to pay compensation to the resident for the distress and inconvenience caused by the failures outlined above.
The Ombudsman’s remedies guidance, which is available online, provides awards of compensation between £50 and £100 when there is evidence of a service failure by the landlord which may not have significantly affected the overall outcome for the resident. The Ombudsman has therefore made an order that the landlord pay the resident £50 compensation to reflect the distress and inconvenience caused in the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint.

Determination

In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s request for access to information regarding her energy usage and billing.
In accordance with paragraph 52 of the Housing Ombudsman Scheme, there was service failure by the landlord in its handling of the resident’s complaint.

Orders and recommendations

Orders

The landlord must, within 28 days of the date of this determination:
1. apologise in writing for its failures in this case
2. pay the resident compensation of £150 which is comprised of:
  1. £100 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the resident’s request for information regarding her energy usage and billing
  2. £50 in recognition of the distress and inconvenience caused by the landlord’s handling of the resident’s complaint
3. send another activation email to the resident for access to the online portal
4. support the resident to access the online portal
5. provide the resident with access to a user guide for the online portal
This award replaces any offer made to date by the landlord through its internal complaints process. The landlord is entitled to offset against this sum any payments already made to the resident. All payments must be paid directly to the resident and not credited to the rent account unless otherwise agreed by the resident.
The landlord must provide the Ombudsman with evidence of how it has complied with the above orders within 28 days of the date of this determination.

Recommendations

The landlord should consider providing information regarding the online portal to any existing or new residents so that they can monitor energy usage and check that what the landlord is billing them for is correct.