FAQs

Customer satisfaction is the primary goal for Lighting and Energy Conservation Australia (LECA). We always aim to provide services of highest quality. However if we are unable to meet your expectations in some way, or if you are unhappy with the service you received, please let us know. We will endeavour to establish a prompt resolution that is fair, legal and reasonable.  All the complaints received are handled as per LECA’s Complaint Resolution Policy and Procedure.

Standards
We shall always aim to resolve complaints objectively, efficiently and fairly and make sure that our staffs treat you courteously. We follow highest level of standards for complaint management, complaint analysis, resourcing and record keeping.

Internal investigations
We may resolve a complaint on goodwill or commercial grounds, without detailed investigation. Otherwise, we will investigate your complaint based on the severity of the case.

Internal prioritization
We are flexible in the way we prioritize complaint processing depending on the circumstances; but under normal circumstances:

  • Urgent complaints have highest priority.
  • Complaints involving services to customers with significant health problems or who are aged are prioritized next.
  • Complaints that are approaching, or have exceeded maximum response times are prioritized next.
  • We can mostly know about these, or other important factors, only when you tell us. You can opt to alert us by any of the contact channels through which you can lodge a complaint.

Internal escalation
We have an internal escalation process, and your complaint will be escalated and managed accordingly if you request for it. For your information, internal escalation and management may not accelerate resolution if the complaint is not urgent and its processing already meets the applicable standards within the permitted maximum response times.       

Response time. A complaint will be automatically escalated if:

  • The maximum response time has been exceeded;
  • It becomes urgent;
  • You notify us of another factor that increases the seriousness of your complaint or the need for expedited resolution.

Appropriate resolution
We will resolve your complaint appropriately and:

  • We ensure that our Customer Service staff are trained to understand the potential remedies available to resolve complaints;
  • Any remedy we offer will be tailored to the root cause of the complaint, and to your circumstances (if you have told us about them);
  • Our Customer Service staff and Management will monitor complaints to assess if they indicate wider issues, and, if so, address the root cause;
  • We will resolve billing errors for current bills.

Advising you of resolution
We will advise you of the resolution post full investigation of your complaint, as early as practicable.

Credit management action suspended
We will not take credit management action over a disputed amount if you have made a complaint and we know that:

  • It has not been resolved to your satisfaction; and
  • It is being investigated by us or some other recognized third party.

Legal action delayed
We will not start legal proceedings over a matter that has been subjected to a complaint:

  • While we are handling the complaint internally; or
  • Within seven working days after we advise you of the outcome of the complaint

Accessing our complaints process

If you need assistance
We will assist you to formulate, lodge and progress a complaint, especially in the cases of disability, hardship and difficulties with English. Kindly let our Customer Service representative be aware if/when you need assistance.  If you are unable to inform us verbally, you can always write or email us your request.

Authorized Representatives and Advocates

  • You can lodge/register a complaint through an authorized Representative or an Advocate.
  • An ‘Authorized Representative’ is a person who has been appointed and delegated to negotiate with us, on your behalf, with some authority over your account.
  • An ‘Advocate’ is a person you have appointed to deal with us, on your behalf, but without any authority over your account.

Urgent Complaints

When we treat a complaint as urgent
A complaint you lodge/register is treated as urgent if:

  • You have applied for or have been accepted as being in financial hardship under our Financial Hardship Policy and the subject matter of your complaint can reasonably be presumed to directly contribute to or aggravate your financial hardship; or
  • You are a Priority Assistance Customer under the Priority Assistance for Life Threatening Medical Conditions Code) and/or the complaint relates to the service for which you receive Priority Assistance.

Our Customer Service staffs are trained to watch for these factors and must flag a complaint as urgent if any of them seem to apply.

How urgent complaints are treated differently
Within two working days of acknowledging your urgent complaint, we will either propose a resolution or advise you why there will be a delay and how long it is likely to be delayed. If you accept a resolution that we propose, we will take action towards the urgent aspects of it, within those two working days if possible.

Charges for using our complaints process

Mainly, our complaints process is free. However,

  • There may be a cost recovery charge for providing information that we collected about you more than two years earlier. But before we charge that, we will tell you about it and give you the option of going forward with the complaint (by paying the charge). We will also tell you about options for external resolution of your complaint.
  • There may be a cost recovery charge for providing information in a form or quantity as our Standard Customer Terms state ‘will not be provided without charge(s)’. But before we charge that, we will tell you about it and give you the option of going forward with the complaint (by paying the charge). We will also tell you about options for external resolution of your complaint.

 

Complaints Resolution Process

Our Complaint Resolution process ensures implementation of high level procedures for identifying and resolving the disputes. We make reasonable endeavours to resolve the matter within 5-10 business days. The time involved in investigating a complaint is determined by its severity and complexity. It involves the three major steps as shown below:

  1. RECEIVING THE COMPLAINT
  2. RESOLVING THE COMPLAINT
  3. DOCUMENTATION

1. RECEIVING THE COMPLAINT

Internal
You can call our Customer Service number at 1300 695 322
Our Customer Service team is available during Mon to Fri from 9.00am to 5.00pm (AEST).
The customer can lodge/register a complaint by letter, telephone, online or email.

Email: info@lecaustralia.com.au
Website: www.lecaustralia.com.au
Mail: Lighting and Energy Conservation Australia
Postal Address: Level 12, 390 St. Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004

External
The following external dispute resolution bodies may be able to assist with your complaint, but it is advised that you first attempt to resolve it directly with us:
• The Office of Fair Trading in Your State or Territory – visit your State or Territory consumer website;
• For Australian Consumer Law matters, the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) – www.accc.gov. au;
• For privacy issues, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) – www.oaic.gov.au.

2. RESOLVING THE COMPLAINT

A complaint is resolved when it is brought to a conclusion (which may or may not be in your favour). When we propose a ‘resolution’, we suggest how to solve your complaint. We aren’t required to action that proposed resolution unless and until you accept it.
When your complaint is resolved, we advise you accordingly.

Acknowledgment
If you lodge/register a complaint in person or by telephone to a ‘live’ staff member, we will acknowledge it immediately.
If you lodge/register a complaint by email, paper post or by a telephone message recoding system, we will acknowledge it within 72 hours.
When we acknowledge your complaint, we will give you:
• A unique Case Reference Number you can use to identify the complaint in later exchanges with us;
• An indicative timeframe to resolve the complaint; and
• Information on how to obtain this Complaint Handling Process Summary.

First contact resolution
Whenever possible, we will strive to resolve your complaint on first contact.

Internal escalation
We have an internal escalation process, and your complaint will be escalated and managed accordingly if you request for it.
For your information, internal escalation and management may not accelerate resolution if the complaint is not urgent and its processing already meets the applicable standards within the permitted maximum response time/s.
A complaint will be automatically escalated if:
• The maximum response time has been exceeded;
• It becomes urgent;
You notify us of another factor that increases the severity of your complaint or the need for expedited resolution.

Response times & Delays
While we will strive to solve your complaint as soon as practicable, we are committed to certain maximum response times. We will advise you of any delays to promised timeframes.

Monitoring the progress of your complaint
You can monitor the progress of your complaint by calling Customer Service and quoting your Case Reference Number.

Proposing a resolution
If we believe that we are not able to resolve your complaint within 15 working days (or 2 working days for an urgent complaint) we will advise you within those periods:
As to why there is a delay;
The timeframe that will apply; and
If we expect the delay of 9 working days, you have option of external dispute resolution (except if the delay is because of a declared mass service disruption).
Otherwise, we will propose a resolution within 15 working days or 2 working days for an urgent complaint.

Closing your complaint
We only close a complaint if you agree to a resolution that has been presented which may or may not be in your favour.

Implementing a resolution
We will action an agreed resolution within ten working days unless:
• We agree otherwise with you; or
• You have not done something that is necessary for us to do our part.

3. DOCUMENTATION (COMPLAINT REPORTS)

Once the complaint is lodged, a Case Reference Number is generated by the system. It is recorded against the Customer’s account. Complete history will always be maintained in the System for future references.
The System keeps track of all the open complaints & generate (Scheduled and Online) reports on open complaints. All interaction between LECA and the Customer is always documented in the system. Once the resolution is made, the respective outcome and resolution date is also recorded.

Reports
We generate weekly reports on all the complaints received including the nature of complaints, the status of these complaints and their outcome or resolution.

Analysis
Regular reviews are conducted on the reports generated to identify possible trends and root causes of the complaints received.

Action
Based on the outcome of the root cause analysis of the complaint report, improvements will be implemented to avoid repetition of the complaints and to improve the overall customer experience.

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