During EOQ's first three months of operation (1 July 2007 to 30 September 2007) we received a total of 1,391 contacts from Queensland energy consumers. The contacts included:
- 490 electricity and gas complaints requiring investigation;
- 88 general enquiries;
- 648 referral-backs to energy suppliers (when the consumer has not raised their complaint with the energy supplier before contacting EOQ); and
- 165 referrals to other organisations (when the complaint falls outside of EOQ's jurisdiction).
EOQ closed 409 out of 490 (83.5 percent) actual electricity and gas complaints in the July to September period. Of these:
- 307 (75 percent) resulted in energy suppliers changing their original position on the consumer complaint after EOQ intervention; and
- 102 (25 percent) resulted in EOQ confirming the energy supplier's original position after EOQ intervention.
Most complaints lodged with us are resolved through negotiation or informal mediation. Below is the time taken to deal with the complaints EOQ closed during the July to September 2007 time period:
- less than two weeks: 313
- less than one month: 74
- less than three months: 22
- over three months: 0
EOQ Complaints - 1 July to 30 September 2007
|
|
Account Fees & Charges | Consumer is querying fees or charges on their account by their retailer | 73 |
| Account Payment Difficulties | Consumer is experiencing difficulty in making payment of their energy account | 66 |
| Account Responsibility | Consumer has query as to the name on their energy account | 16 |
| Compensation - Damages & Loss | Consumer alleges damage or loss of goods as result of incident on electricity or gas network | 8 |
| Connection Issue - Existing Network | Consumer is seeking new connection to the existing network (eg. new residence) | 57 |
| Connection Issue - Extension of Supply | Consumer is seeking to have supply extended from the electricity or gas network to their property | 21 |
| Contract Issue | Consumer has a complaint over the terms or conditions of their energy contract (market or standard contract) | 44 |
| Customer Service | Consumer complaint regarding the manner of contact with their energy supplier (eg. call centre contact) | 38 |
| Debt Collection | Consumer has complaint about contact by a debt collection agency seeking payment | 5 |
| Disconnections | Consumer has had energy supply disconnected and is seeking assistance to be reconnected | 39 |
| Equipment/Assets | Consumer is seeking to have energy supplier's assets relocated or removed from near or on their property (eg. relocation of power pole) | 15 |
| GSL | Consumer is seeking a guaranteed service level rebate in accordance with the Electricity Industry Code | 3 |
| High/Disputed Account | Consumer is claiming their energy account is unusually high and is disputing both energy consumption and payment | 52 |
| Interruption to Supply | Consumer is claiming an interruption to their electricity or gas supply via the network | 10 |
| Market Conduct | Consumer complaint regarding the conduct of retailers attempting to sign customers on negotiated contracts | 37 |
| Quality of Supply | Consumer complaint regarding the quality of their energy supply | 3 |
| Vegetation/Environment | Consumer complaint regarding the trimming or removal of vegetation near energy assets (eg. trees near powerlines) | 3 |
| Total Complaints | | 490 |
EOQ Total Contacts - 1 July to 30 September 2007
|
|
Electricity and gas complaints | See complaints in table above | 490 |
| Referral-Back to Energy Supplier | Consumer is referred back to their energy supplier as they have not initially raised their complaint with them | 648 |
| EOQ General Enquiry | Consumer is making a general enquiry about the services of EOQ or the energy industry | 88 |
| Referral to Energy Regulator | Consumer complaint falls outside of EOQ's jurisdiction and is referred to the Department of Mines and Energy | 118 |
| Referral to OFT | Consumer complaint falls outside of EOQ's jurisdiction and is referred to the Office of Fair Trading | 1 |
| Referral to Other Agency | Consumer complaint falls outside of EOQ's jurisdiction and is referred to another agency | 34 |
| Referral to QCA | Consumer complaint falls outside of EOQ's jurisdiction and is referred to the Queensland Competition Authority | 12 |
| Total Contacts | | 1391 |
Total Contacts Per Month 2007/08
|
|
July 2007 | 450 |
|
August | 436 |
|
September | 505 |
