Overcoming barriers to setting-up energy accounts
Katia's Story
Katia and her daughter, who are Ukrainian refugees, moved into their first home in the UK in July 2023 after staying with a sponsor family. Katia needed to set up a new energy account for her property. Communication was complicated due to language barriers, requiring a translator. Initially, Katia believed that the Council had already established an energy account for her. After waiting for the first bill, a face-to-face meeting with our advisor and a translator was held to clarify the situation and discuss next steps.
Advice and Support
In late September 2023, our advisor submitted an online form with meter readings to help Katia set up her energy account. While the supplier confirmed Katia would receive the Warm Home Discount, opening the account was repeatedly delayed due to administrative errors and requests for additional documents, e.g. tenancy agreement. Despite multiple complaints and resending required paperwork, the process stalled throughout late 2023 and early 2024.
Extensive Communication Efforts
Persistent follow-ups included numerous emails, calls, texts and forms, yet issues remained unresolved for months. In February 2024, the supplier confirmed that an account had been opened, but it was an online account that did not work with a non-UK email address. The account was eventually established using our advisor’s email, and preferences were later changed to postal communication. During this period, Katia’s payments were misallocated to another account; bank statements were later provided as proof so funds could be transferred correctly.
In total, our advisor undertook extensive communication, including 42 emails, 15 calls, 24 texts, and 5 forms to resolve the situation.