Micro and small business energy rights: a clear guide

Find the category that applies to the complaint

The Ofgem supply and complaints framework discussed here applies to Great Britain; Northern Ireland has a separate energy regulatory framework.

The staff-and-financial route combines conditions: meet the employee limit and at least one of the relevant financial limits. Alternatively, the consumption route can qualify the business for the particular fuel. Do not combine the electricity and gas figures or substitute a monthly reading for annual consumption.

The pounds-based micro-business financial definition and the expanded small-business complaints coverage took effect on 19 December 2024. The fuel-consumption route is specific to the fuel being complained about. A business may therefore qualify for an electricity dispute while needing a different assessment for gas.

Have annual usage information, staff details and relevant accounts available. If the supplier classifies the business differently, ask which test and evidence it used. Keep the response with the complaint. For more complex organisational arrangements, seek confirmation rather than assuming one site's consumption or one company's headcount answers every scope question.

These categories concern particular energy protections. They are not interchangeable with every definition of small business used in banking, telecoms or company accounts. Reusing a category from another service can lead to an incorrect expectation about the route available.

What micro-business contract protections cover

Micro businesses have additional requirements around contract information and renewal, including advance information before a fixed term ends and a limit on the length of a rollover contract. A rollover must not exceed 12 months. Check the actual expiry, renewal notice and contract terms so you can distinguish a rollover from an out-of-contract or deemed arrangement.

Older guidance commonly refers to a maximum 30-day termination notice. Ofgem's 2022 reforms removed the general termination-notice requirement for micro-business contracts other than evergreen arrangements. Do not rely on the older factsheet alone. Ask the supplier to identify your contract type and explain any notice requirement it says applies.

Micro businesses also have protection against certain back-bills for energy used more than 12 months earlier. It is not a cancellation of every debt older than a year. Whether energy was accurately billed before, and whether the customer obstructed accurate billing, can affect the position. Preserve bills, readings and attempts to contact the supplier.

Our guide to an ended business energy contract separates deemed, out-of-contract and rollover situations. Establishing the correct category is useful before arguing about a termination date or a bill: the same practical event can have different contractual consequences.

What expanded for small businesses in December 2024

From 19 December 2024, qualifying small businesses gained access to the expanded energy redress arrangements and complaints handling standards. Supplier signposting to Citizens Advice also extended to this category. Businesses that previously assumed the Energy Ombudsman was only for households or the very smallest firms should check the current tests.

This expansion did not make every micro-business contract protection universal. A small business qualifying for the Ombudsman does not automatically acquire the micro-business back-billing or rollover rules. Explain which protection you are asking the supplier to apply instead of simply stating that the business is small.

Ask the supplier for its complaints procedure, a reference and a clear description of the next step. If the issue concerns a network service or a different company, establish who is responsible and which scheme covers that complaint. A supplier may need information from another party, but your own record should show who has been asked to do what.

If you need help understanding the process, Citizens Advice can provide guidance on business energy issues within its services. Keep the advice record and continue supplying requested evidence. An independent advice conversation does not itself open an Ombudsman case or stop a contractual deadline.

Protections applying across non-domestic supply

Since 1 July 2024, supplier standards of conduct require fair, honest, transparent and professional treatment of all non-domestic customers. These standards are relevant beyond the micro and small categories. They do not mean all commercial contract terms are identical or that a supplier must accept every requested outcome.

For relevant contracts signed from 1 October 2024, third-party cost disclosure requirements also extend across non-domestic customers. The information is in the Principal Terms and available on request; a separate commission line on the bill is not required. Direct fees paid to a broker need a separate check under the broker engagement.

When complaining about unclear information, identify the statement, document or omission rather than relying solely on a general allegation of unfairness. Explain what you understood before agreement and what later happened. That gives the supplier a concrete issue to investigate and makes an escalation easier to follow.

A larger business outside the Ombudsman tests can still use the supplier's complaints procedure and consider other appropriate routes. Access to a particular redress scheme is a separate question from whether the supplier has a duty under its licence or contract. Obtain advice where the disputed amount or contractual consequences justify it.

Make a complaint with a clear chronology

Begin with the account and meter details, the first date of the problem, and a concise description of the error. Attach the documents that demonstrate it: bills, actual readings, contract terms or sale correspondence. State the remedy you seek, such as a corrected bill or an explanation of a charge, without assuming the decision in advance.

Keep the original complaint date. Repeatedly contacting customer service should not leave you unable to establish when the issue was first raised. Ask for written confirmation that it is logged as a complaint and retain each reference if the supplier creates more than one.

As checked on 9 September 2026, the Energy Ombudsman's published guidance allows escalation after eight weeks unresolved, or earlier on receipt of a deadlock letter. A deadlock letter states that the supplier cannot resolve the dispute further. The Ombudsman says a dispute must be escalated within 12 months of receiving that letter.

The government has announced a reduction of the waiting period to six weeks, but the implementation date is not established in the cited material. Check current scheme guidance when escalating. Do not confuse this pending energy change with different complaint timescales already applying in telecoms.

While a dispute is open, address ongoing bills and ask how disputed and undisputed amounts will be handled. Cancelling a payment arrangement does not itself resolve the complaint and can create a separate problem. Keep written evidence of any temporary payment agreement.

Broker complaints use their own scheme route

If the complaint concerns the broker's sale or service, check its membership of the relevant qualifying dispute scheme. The Energy Ombudsman operates a separate energy broker scheme. Eligible disputes depend on the business, member and engagement falling within the rules; supplier membership does not automatically establish broker membership.

A complaint about an unexplained pass-through charge might involve what the broker said during sale and what the supplier charged afterwards. Identify those issues separately. Send each party the evidence relevant to its conduct and explain any related complaint so the records remain consistent.

The broker scheme's financial award cap is £10,000. A cap is a maximum scheme limit, not an estimate of what a complaint is worth. Outcomes can include practical action or an apology as well as a financial award, depending on the findings. Eligibility and evidence determine what can be considered.

For supplier disputes, the Ombudsman says an accepted resolution must be implemented within 28 days. Keep the acceptance and implementation dates and contact the case handler if the agreed action is not completed. Read the decision and any review or acceptance instructions carefully before choosing how to respond.

For a dispute about a particular bill, separate the period of consumption from the date the bill was issued. That distinction can matter when the supplier investigates an estimate, a correction or a back-billing concern. Attach earlier bills for the same period so the record does not accidentally present already billed usage as newly charged.

What to do next

Build one complaint file containing:

• Evidence of the relevant business-size or fuel-consumption test.
• Account, supply and meter identifiers.
• A dated chronology beginning with the original complaint.
• Contract documents, bills, readings and correspondence.
• The specific correction or explanation requested.
• Any deadlock letter and the escalation deadline.

If commission is part of the issue, use the document checklist in business energy broker commission. CostQuote does not handle complaints with your supplier or broker. Its complaints page explains how to raise an issue about its own introduction service; that is separate from your energy-contract dispute.