Many of the referrals we receive are from people in vulnerable situations. We consider someone to be vulnerable if it’s unreasonable to expect them to pursue their complaint on their own. Contributing factors may include:

• Medical conditions

• A need for support, e.g. a learning disability or difficulty with communication

• Personal circumstances, e.g. a family crisis, dependencies, fuel poverty and debt

This list is not exhaustive and it’s important to remember that vulnerability may be transient and can occur at any point in a person’s life.

Some cases may be too complex for the person affected to understand and resolve themselves. In other cases the consumer may have reached an impasse with their energy supplier or been unable to reach them. Occasionally a supplier will have failed to investigate the matter at all.