Customer Complaints Procedure

We know that sometimes things go wrong and when that happens we really value your feedback and the opportunity to put things right. Letting us know when you are not happy with our people, products or services helps us to improve our service for all our customers.

Our promises to you are:

• To treat your complaint fairly and impartially.
• To resolve your complaint as quickly as we can and where possible within 3 working days.
• To keep you informed of our progress, especially where your complaint is complex and/or taking longer to resolve.
• To learn from our mistakes to make things better.

Complaints about:

• Your vehicle lease – anything to do with your order, your vehicle, your lease agreement, charging, insurance or the service you have received from us. 
• Your heat pump loan – the finance element of a low carbon technology loan we have provided.
• How we have handled your personal data – anything to do with how we have collected, used, shared or stored your information.

If your complaint covers more than one of these areas, you only need to raise it once. We will make sure the right team looks at each part. Different rules or timescales may apply to different parts of your complaint, and we will explain this where relevant.

You can make a complaint about your vehicle lease or how we have handled your personal data using any of the following channels. We will respond via email but can send a letter if requested. 

•  Phone: +44 (0) 20 3389 59 59
• Email: hello@octopusev.com
• In writing: Octopus Electric Vehicles, UK House, 5th Floor, 164-182 Oxford Street, London W1D 1NN
• Social: Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Instagram

You can make a complaint about your heat pump finance using any of the following channels. We will respond via email but can send a letter if requested.

• Phone: +44 (0) 20 4634 20 53
• Email: LCTfinancing@octopusev.com
• In writing: Octopus Electric Vehicles, UK House, 5th Floor, 164-182 Oxford Street, London W1D 1NN

At this time, we are unable to respond to complaints over social media.

Please note, our role in relation to your heat pump is providing the finance. If your complaint is about the heat pump itself, its installation or ongoing service, we may need to refer that part of your complaint to Octopus Energy Services Limited. We will continue to deal with any part of the complaint that we remain responsible for.

To help us look into your complaint, please tell us what happened, when it happened and what you would like us to do to put things right. If you have any other information that may help us, please send that too. If you do not have all of this information, please still get in touch and we will work through it with you.

If you are complaining on behalf of someone else, we may need evidence that you are authorised to act for them before we can share information or the outcome with you.

We will handle your complaint as quickly and thoroughly as possible. If your complaint is about vehicle leasing or heat pump finance we will acknowledge it in writing within 3 working days. If your complaint is about data protection we will acknowledge it in writing within 30 working days.

If we cannot resolve your complaint at first contact or within the acknowledgement periods above, we will keep you informed of our progress. We aim to resolve all complaints within a maximum timescale of eight weeks. In the rare case where we think it could take longer than eight weeks, we'll keep you informed and let you know when we expect to resolve the issue and what your options are.

If we can resolve the personal data part of a wider complaint before the other parts, we will tell you the outcome of that part sooner.

We'll stay in touch throughout the complaint process and will share our final response in writing. It will explain the outcome, any action we are taking, and which escalation route or routes apply if you are still unhappy. 

In some cases, we may have to forward your complaint to another party (for example to the vehicle or heat pump manufacturer). If that happens, we will make you aware and whilst we are not responsible for complaints that are forwarded to other parties we will support you to get a full response to your concerns.

We are committed to ensuring all complaints are fully and fairly addressed, but if you remain dissatisfied with our final response, or if eight weeks have passed since you first raised the matter with us, you may have the option to refer the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service, British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association or the information Commissioner’s Office.

If you don’t feel our final complaint outcome has resolved your personal contract hire (PCH) or heat pump financing complaint, there is a further escalation process available to you.

The role of the FOS is to help settle individual disputes between consumers and businesses providing financial services in the UK, there is more information here. The service is free of charge, but you must refer your complaint within 6 months of receiving our final response and you must be a personal contract hire customer.

The full contact details for the Financial Ombudsman Service are detailed below:

• In writing: Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London, E14 9SR
• Phone: 0800 0 234 567 (free from landlines) or 0300 123 9 123 (charged at a national rate)
• Email: complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
• Website: www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

Please note: If you contact the FOS before you have received our final response letter, or before eight weeks have passed since you initially raised your concerns with us, the FOS will refer you back to us to resolve your complaint.

If you don’t feel our final complaint outcome has resolved your salary sacrifice or business contract hire complaint, there is a further escalation process available to you.

You may have the right to refer your complaint to the BVRLA’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Service, free of charge – but you must do so within 12 months of the date of our final response. If you don't refer your complaint in time, the BVRLA won't consider your complaint.

The full contact details for the BVRLA’s ADR service are detailed below:

• In writing: ADR Service BVRLA, River Lodge, Badminton Court, Amersham, Buckinghamshire, HP7 0DD
• Email: complaint@bvrla.co.uk
• Website: www.bvrla.co.uk/consumer-advice/making-a-complaint-adr.html

Please note: If you contact the BVRLA before you have received our final response letter, or before eight weeks have passed since you initially raised your concerns with us, the BVRLA will refer you back to us to resolve your complaint.

If you don’t feel our final complaint outcome has resolved your personal data complaint, there is a further escalation process available to you.

You can refer your complaint to the ICO. The ICO is the UK’s independent regulator for data protection and its service is free. You can complain to the ICO at any time, although the ICO recommends giving us the opportunity to investigate and respond first.

The full contact details for the ICO are detailed below:

• In writing: Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
• Phone: 0303 123 1113
• Website: www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint