Manx Utilities was complacent and dismissive in its handling of a customer’s complaint, the Tynwald ombudsman has found.

Commissioner for administration Paul Beckett concludes there was evidence of ‘procedural maladminstration’, in a report to be laid before the October Tynwald.

The customers first contacted Manx Utilities in June 2023 about an unexpected rise in size of their bills and missing e-bills.

Staff were initially helpful, offering to carry out a home energy visit, but the issues were still unresolved by the end of the year with the customer having to chase ebills and then cancelling direct debit payments as they were not sure what was being deducted.

Their bills for the summer were more expensive than their mid-winter bills, despite the complainant being off-island when the bills were accrued.

When they called to query a bill, they claimed a member of staff cited tariff rises but then became rude and aggressive and hung up.

The customer submitted a complaint to the authority.

In a response dated March 2024, the director of finance said he was sorry to hear that the experience with Manx Utilities has not met expectations.

The director said they had looked into the circumstances relating to the complaint which included reviewing the account history, correspondence and file notes and discussing the matter with the two members of the team the customer had spoken to.

They said the investigation into the complaint had now been completed - but left the customer no wiser as to the reason for the inflated bills.

The customer subsequently contacted the Tynwald commissioner for administration asking them to investigate their unresolved complaint.

They said: ‘I have been a customer of Manx Utilities for almost 20 years and have never experienced any issues aside from this and have never missed a payment. I do however feel I am being victimised for daring to query the differences in the usage.’

Following an investigation, the Tynwald ombudsman concluded the director of finance’s response evidenced maladministration.

Mr Beckett said: ‘Offering only the most general of apologies, the director refers to a review of the complainant’s accounts history and to discussions which they have had with the officers concerned, without revealing the substance of either.

‘There is no report concerning the investigation into patterns of electricity usage at the complainant’s home. As is the case in the internal MUA investigation, the question of whether or not the complainant’s electricity meter was faulty, and an explanation of why the Manx Utilities Authority felt unable to check this, is missing.’

He added: ‘The director’s letter amounts to a refusal to answer the complainant’s reasonable questions.

‘Its complacent, dismissive tone – that the MUA has looked into the matter, is itself satisfied and regards the investigation as having been completed – is as discourteous as it is uninformative. On its face, it betrays a lack of respect for the complainant’s concerns. The director’s response evidences maladministration.’

The ombudsman noted a marked difference in tone and content between the internal report prepared by the director in which shortcomings on the part of the authority are acknowledged, and the letter that was sent to the complainant.