ECO4 Complaints process

We don’t deal directly with complaints about Energy Company Obligation (ECO) installations, but we can help provide the relevant information you require to raise and resolve your dispute.

You can make a complaint about your ECO installation by contacting:

• Trustmark and following their complaints process
• the installer
• the relevant scheme provider
• the relevant Ombudsmen

When making a complaint it is useful to have the following information:

• What was installed
• The date of the installation
  • The date of installation may be present on installation paperwork and may also be on the energy efficiency measure, such as the loft installation, the boiler, or the Solar PV inverter.
• The name of the installer 
• The relevant guarantee

If you don’t know the name of the installer

Please contact the ECO team (ECO.SAR@ofgem.gov.uk) to raise a Subject Access Request.

As part of our compliance process, you must provide us with two documents that prove you live at the property for us to process your request. Examples of acceptable documentation include but are not limited to:

•    Utility Bill (dated within the last three months) 
•    Tax Bill (dated within the last three months) 
•    Bank Statement (dated within the last three months)

We can accept any combination of documents, so long as two documents are included. For example, we will accept two of the same type of document if they are within date. 

Once we have received this information, we will respond within one calendar month.
We will not have this information on our database until three months after the installation has been completed.

If you don’t have your guarantee

If the measure was installed after 1st January 2020, please contact TrustMark at info@trustmark.org.uk.

If the measure was installed before April 2022, we may be able to confirm the name of the guarantee provider through a Subject Access Request. This will be provided to you as a code. Use this code to refer to our Appropriate Guarantees list for ECO1 and ECO2 (including ECO2t) to find out which company is responsible.  We do not hold copies of guarantee certificates.

What to do once you have the relevant information

Most ECO measures must be installed by, or under the responsibility of, a person who is registered with TrustMark.

We therefore advise consumers follow the TrustMark Complaints Process.

If your complaint does not fall under the TrustMark complaint process, for example, because the business that carried out the work no longer holds an active registration with Trustmark, or the installation was before 1st January 2020 please follow the steps outlined below.

Contact the installer

The contract for the work done in your home is typically between the householder and the installer, therefore you should discuss the issue(s) you are experiencing and the approaches they may be able to take to resolve these. In the paperwork you may also find details of the guarantee of warranty for the energy efficiency measure(s) installed in your home, these can support discussions with the installer or installation company.

If the installer has gone out of business or not addressed your concerns, you should contact the guarantee provider, with some guarantee providers recommending consumers contact them at the same time as contacting the installer about a complaint, as it could help speed up the resolution of your complaint.

Contact the relevant scheme provider

These organisations promote industry standards by granting Trustmark accreditation to installers delivering ECO measures. If your dispute has not been resolved with the installer, they may be able to help. The accreditation/certification body will depend on the measures installed:

• For glass and glazing measures this may be the Glass and Glazing Federation (GGF).
• For insulation measure this may be the Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA) or the Installation Assurance Authority (IAA).
• For measures comprising a District Heating System, this may be Heat Trust.
• For measures fuelled by gas, this may be the Gas Safe Register.
• For measures fuelled by biomass and other solid fuels, this may be HETAS.
• For measures fuelled by liquid fuels, such as oil or LPG, this may be the Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC).
• For renewable and microgeneration installers this may be the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS) and/or the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC), or the Home Insulation Energy Systems (HIES) scheme.

Energy efficiency measures installed under a government scheme are required to meet the Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) standards 2030. The oversight body is the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), and they may be able to support if the product is not performing to a high standard.

Contact the Ombudsman

If it was not possible to resolve the issue(s) with the energy efficiency measure(s) in your home with the relevant oversight body, these organisations may be overseen by an Ombudsman. For the Renewable Energy Consumer Code (RECC), Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS), Cavity Insulation Guarantee Agency (CIGA), Installation Assurance Authority (IAA), and Glass and Gazing Federation (GGF) oversight bodies, the Ombudsman is the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR).

Citizens Advice

If your problem is still not resolved, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline may be able to help. The number is 08454 040 506. If you wish to report a problem to Trading Standards, mention this to the adviser. Citizens Advice can refer matters to Trading Standards, who will then decide whether to take on the case. 

Trading standards

Alternatively, you could contact your Local Trading Standards Office or Local Building Control directly via Consumer Help and Advice | CTSI - Chartered Trading Standards Institute UK.

Tell us about your experience

We encourage you to share any feedback with us on any negative experiences you may have had. This enables our work with industry to help improve standards. To do so, you can contact us at eco@ofgem.gov.uk