Customer complaints service to the Warm Front scheme

Tender description

This is a time limited appointment of Carillion Energy Services (CES) to provide a limited service to the Department of Energy and Climate Change to handle any complaints from existing customers under the UK Government’s Warm Front Scheme which has now closed. The Warm Front Scheme was Government’s primary tool for improving the homes of households in or at risk of fuel poverty in England. It provided a range of energy efficient heating and insulation measures to private sector households in receipt of certain income related benefits and living in properties that were poorly insulated. The scheme closed to new applicants in 2013. CES is the existing scheme manager, having been appointed in 2005, and CES’ principal responsibilities as scheme manager was to process and manage the applications and call centre and to arrange with the installer sub-contractor the installation of the relevant measures in the households of the beneficiaries of the Scheme and to provide after-care. Given the vulnerable nature of the customers, a customer complaints service is required until March 2016 or, if demand remains high, until March 2017 to ensure the effective close down of the scheme. CES’ principal tasks under its new appointment will be to investigate and resolve complaints relating to the insulation or heating measures installed by a sub-contractor prior to the closure of the scheme and, where a complaint is upheld, to ensure that the sub-contractor carries out remedial works at that sub-contractor’s (or CES’) expense.