Agree service targets before problems arise

An accountable service has an owner, evidence, a deadline and an escalation route. The following targets are proposed examples to negotiate, not legal standards or claims about providers. Make them consistent with the school's payment dates, data availability and service fee.

Service targets in these records and the editable transaction pack are separate negotiated illustrations. A five-day or ten-day check is an example agreement, not an industry guarantee or a statutory deadline. Record the target actually agreed with your adviser.

Record 1: the first invoice uses the wrong rate

The finance lead retains the contract, invoice and calculation. The TPI raises supplier case S-882 and asks for corrected rates and any consequential tax correction. Payment treatment is agreed with the supplier and finance lead; the example does not authorise cancelling payment or withholding the entire bill.

The fictional supplier issues a credit for the difference and applicable tax adjustment; finance confirms it appears on the account. Close only after checking the next invoice. Record £300 as a corrected pre-tax charge, not an annual procurement saving or cash refund unless money was actually returned.

Record 2: investigate an overnight baseload increase

Example E-019: average overnight demand rises from 8 kW to 20 kW for ten hours on each of ten comparable nights. The incremental consumption is 12 × 10 × 10 = 1,200 kWh. At an illustrative marginal 24p/kWh, that is £288 before tax. Demand in kW and consumption in kWh are different quantities.

The data owner confirms complete readings and matching intervals. The estates team checks weather, occupancy, security, IT and planned works before finding that a ventilation schedule changed after maintenance. A competent person restores the approved operating schedule while maintaining required ventilation. The next comparable nights return close to baseline.

Record the cause, action, dates and follow-up readings. The £288 is an estimate of additional historic consumption cost under stated assumptions, not a guaranteed annual saving. Continue monitoring; do not multiply ten nights into a year without an appropriate operating baseline.

Record 3: supply registration is not confirmed

Example E-023: seven working days before the intended start, the new supplier shows one meter unregistered. The procurement lead obtains the reason and discovers an objection linked to a disputed balance. Ofgem notes that an existing supplier may object to a switch, including for debt.

The TPI reconciles the disputed account with finance, checks the meter and contract end date, and obtains written next steps from both suppliers. The school establishes who supplies the meter meanwhile and the applicable commercial rates. A failed registration is not, by itself, proof of a physical disconnection.

Escalate the same day to the accountable supplier teams and school lead. Keep the objection reference, evidence, proposed remedy and revised start confirmation. Assess any additional charges after the actual position is known. Do not close the case on a verbal promise or sign an incompatible replacement arrangement in haste. Network emergencies follow the separate emergency process.

Use the complaints route that actually applies

The Energy Ombudsman's published small-business criteria offer alternative routes based on business size or consumption. The business-size route requires fewer than 50 employees or full-time equivalents, together with either annual turnover of at most £6.5 million or a balance-sheet total of at most £5 million. The consumption routes are annual electricity use of no more than 200,000 kWh or annual gas use of no more than 500,000 kWh.

Check how the scheme applies the tests to the actual legal customer and dispute. A school's pupil count or an individual small meter does not establish eligibility. Broker schemes differ: verify membership with the named scheme.

A dashboard for the first 100 days that shows the remaining work

Retain closed cases alongside open ones. Distinguish credited corrections, paid refunds, forecast reductions and measured consumption changes. The service review should end with an action, owner and next date, including an escalation decision where performance remains poor.