Source · SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman)

Business Stream

SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Upheld Reference 201302519 Sector Water Category incorrect billing Decided 01 May 2014

Full decision

Summary

Mr C complained that Business Stream failed to bill him correctly for his water use. Our investigation found that there had been a number of errors in the bills issued to him. His meter had been exchanged, but there was a delay in issuing bills based on the readings from the replacement meter. When this was corrected, Business Stream used the wrong rate for his waste water charges. This brought about a significant increase in Mr C's bills over the next two years. However, when this was corrected, a further bill was issued based on an incorrect meter reading. In view of these errors, we upheld Mr C's complaint. However, we were satisfied that Business Stream had corrected the errors before Mr C brought his complaint to us. They had written to him to apologise and explained that they used complaints to improve the service they provide. They also credited a payment to Mr C's account as a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience that the matter had caused him.

Mr C also complained that Business Stream had not handled his complaint appropriately. We found that they had responded to the issues Mr C had raised, but had delayed in issuing the response. In their update letters, they had provided timescales for responding that they were then unable to meet. However, they had apologised for the delays. Although we upheld Mr C's complaints, we did not find it necessary to make any recommendations in view of the action that Business Stream had already taken.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201302519 as a PDF (11.25 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
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