Source · SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman)

Business Stream

SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Not Upheld Reference 201204363 Sector Water Category debt recovery / payment fees Decided 01 February 2014

Full decision

Summary

Mr C complained about Business Stream's handling of his account. He was unhappy that Business Stream had not told him that they were his licensed provider, and complained that it was not until some years after moving into the property that he became aware of this. He was also aggrieved that he then received a bill backdated to when he moved into the premises. Mr C applied for a reassessment of his charges but was again unhappy when he was told that this would not be backdated to when he moved in.

During our investigation we found that it was the business's responsibility to establish the position about water supply arrangements when they moved into the premises. In this case there was no evidence that the delay in issuing Mr C's invoices was due to Business Stream failing to act on information available, or that they were aware his company were in the property and had failed to act. When Business Stream were told that Mr C's company was in the property they issued an invoice the same month. Although we did not uphold Mr C's complaint, we were concerned that Business Stream failed to apply the reassessed charges to his account, and made a recommendation for action.

Recommendations

We recommended that Business Stream: take action to process the banding offer and apply it to Mr C's account.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201204363 as a PDF (12.13 KB) Updated: March 13, 2018

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Other decisions involving Business Stream

Reference Date Summary Outcome
202101632 01 Mar 2023 C complained about Business Stream's communication regarding their account. There was also disagreement between C and Business Stream over the … Resolved / Early Resolution
202103298 01 Nov 2022 C runs a small business and was unhappy with the way Business Stream managed their account. In particular, C was … Upheld
201900738 01 Dec 2021 C complained that Business Stream had not billed their business accurately. C said that they had been told by an … Not Upheld
201806006 01 Jul 2021 C purchased a former business premises for conversion to domestic property. At the time of the original purchase the business … Resolved / Early Resolution
201808488 01 Nov 2020 Mr C complained that Business Stream incorrectly arranged for a meter to be installed at a vacant property belonging to … Not Upheld
View all decisions for this organisation