Investigation Report 200502458

The City of Edinburgh Council
The complainant (Mr C) raised a complaint that his client (Ms D) had accepted the offer of a Council house based on inaccurate information provided by the Council in respect of the central heating system. The Council had advised that the house was fitted with gas central heating when in actual fact only electric storage heaters were fitted. These storage heaters did not have the appropriate meter installed to allow for use of the cheap overnight electricity tariff. As such, Ms D's electricity costs were significantly higher than they would otherwise have been. Mr C pursued the complaint through the Council's formal complaints procedure and, as he remained dissatisfied with their response, referred the matter to the Ombudsman on 5 December 2005.