Abri Group Limited (202309628)

Back to Top

 

REPORT

COMPLAINT 202309628

Abri Group Limited

6 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

  1. The complaint is about the landlord’s handling of the resident’s reports of faulty utility meters.

Determination (jurisdictional decision)

  1. When a complaint is brought to the Ombudsman, we must consider all the circumstances of the case as there are sometimes reasons why a complaint will not be investigated.

 

  1. After carefully considering all the evidence, we have determined that in accordance with paragraph 42.j. the complaint, as set out above, is not within the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction to investigate.

Summary of events

  1. The resident lives in a sheltered scheme and is a tenant of the landlord. The scheme runs on what is known as a district heating system, and residents have individual meters in their properties. The resident has separate meters for gas, electric, hot water, and cold water. The evidence shows the landlord referred to itself throughout the events of this case as the resident’s energy and water supplier.
  2. The resident raised concerns about a possible fault with her water meter in July 2022, and made a complaint about the issue in March 2023. The landlord upheld the resident’s complaint and outlined the works it had done to the water meters to rectify issues it was aware of. It also said it would further investigate the resident’s concerns that the gas meter was also defective, as she had claimed her bills were higher than usual. The landlord set out that it was manually taking meter readings, due to issues with the meters, and would provide appropriate bill adjustments to the resident based on a 12 month average usage.
  3. The resident was unhappy with the landlord’s handling of the issue, as she said there was an “unreasonable wait” to receive adjustments to her utility bills. The landlord issued its stage 2 complaint response in September 2023, and upheld the resident’s complaint. It restated its position on the utility bill adjustments, and explained it had completed works to rectify issues with the water meters.
  4. The resident contacted this Service on 19 October 2023 and asked us to investigate her complaint. She said she was unhappy with the landlord’s handling of the matter, and that she was overcharged for water, gas, and electric due to the faulty meters.

Reasons

  1. Paragraph 42.j. of the Scheme states that the Ombudsman may not investigate a complaint that, in the Ombudsman’s opinion, fall properly within the jurisdiction of another Ombudsman, regulator, or complaint-handling body.
  2. The evidence shows that the landlord considered acted as the resident’s energy, and water, supplier. It billed the resident through a 3rd party administration service. The landlord accepted responsibility for repairing/replacing faulty meters.
  3. The resident’s complaint is about the concern she faced increased utility bills, due to the faulty meters in her property. While we do not seek to dispute her concerns, the concerns raised in her complaint do not fall within the remit of this Ombudsman. Complaints about the provision of gas and electricity fall properly within the remit of the Energy Ombudsman. If the resident remains unhappy about the landlord’s handling of her concerns about the gas and electricity meter, and the associated costs, she may wish to raise her complaint with the Energy Ombudsman. Resolve Energy Complaints | Energy Ombudsman.
  4. Complaints about the supply of water fall properly within the jurisdiction of the Consumer Council for Water (CCW). If the resident remains unhappy about the landlord’s handling of her concerns about the water meters, and the associated costs, she may wish to raise her complaint with the CCW. Make a complaint – CCW