Source · SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman)

Business Stream

SPSO (Scottish Public Services Ombudsman) Not Upheld Reference 201302929 Sector Water Category incorrect billing Decided 01 June 2014

Full decision

Summary

Mr C’s farm has a water meter from which there is a series of sub-meters serving additional properties. Mr C was concerned that these were not all being deducted from his bill, and that he was being overcharged. He complained that Business Stream failed to take adequate steps to ensure that his water usage was accurately invoiced.

We considered all of the relevant documentation and made further enquiries of Business Stream. Our investigation found that when Mr C bought his farm, his water meter had five sub-meters attached. The usage of three of these was deducted from his bill, but Mr C was held responsible for the costs for the others. Business Stream had told Mr C that the water meters were not installed by Scottish Water and were not in their ownership, so they were not in a position to remove consumption from his charges, which was a private matter for him to resolve. However, after we asked Business Stream more about this, they said they had since learned from Scottish Water that there had been an error and that they in fact owned all five sub-meters. They had resolved this by cancelling all Mr C's previous invoices, removing the costs of all the sub-meters backdated to when he bought his farm, and sending him a new bill.

Related reading

View Decision Report 201302929 as a PDF (11.2 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
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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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