How Do I Complain About an ECC-Rater or Ask for a Refund?
Ask the rater to correct the test first, then use the ECC-Provider's complaint system, which every provider must run and the Consumer Information Form must explain. A flawed test is remedied with an additional test. A refund follows only where a notice of violation makes the rater bear your costs.
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Ask for the fix before you file
The rules treat a test that conflicts with an audit, or is found untrue or inaccurate, as flawed. The rater or the rater company is responsible for remedying it, and the remedy is an additional test for the party who hired the rater. Keep the rater’s report from the job, which lists each test and the registry numbers; see what the rater owes you.
The provider’s complaint system
Every ECC-Provider must receive complaints from consumers, raters, building departments and the public, then respond, investigate and resolve them in a timely way. It keeps the records for five years and reports a yearly summary to the Energy Commission.
What an investigation can include
- An onsite audit, which the rules require when a provider is looking into a homeowner’s complaint. It happens after the rater has left, and the rater is not told until the results are written down.
- A desk audit that compares the job with at least 20 earlier results from the same rater, to see whether numbers were copied.
The ladder of consequences
If a violation is found, the provider issues a notice of violation. The rater then carries the cost of the original test and any retest the violation makes necessary, and the rater company must help arrange any refund. The rater or company has to notify you, and the final decision goes to affected homeowners. The provider itself is not responsible for those costs. Knowingly false test documents skip the steps and go straight to suspension. A complaint alone therefore does not promise money back.
Other doors
The Commission invites questions about the ECC Program at SCO@energy.ca.gov, and a building official can bar a particular rater from a jurisdiction. See what happens after a failed ECC test, rater independence and, if the rater has gone quiet, the unreachable rater page. Our residential reports list the verifications your job needs.
Common Title 24 Questions
- What is Title 24?
- Do I need a Title 24 report?
- How much does a Title 24 report cost?
- How long does a Title 24 report take?
- What is included in a Title 24 report?
- What plans do I need to upload?
Frequently Asked Questions
It can. An onsite audit is required when a provider investigates a homeowner complaint about a test, and it takes place after the rater has left.
The rules put the cost of a flawed original test and retest on the rater, with the company helping arrange the refund, and not on the provider.
Explore ECC-Raters
- Is an ECC-Rater a City Inspector? Who They Work For
- The Project Owner Report and Consumer Information Form: What the ECC-Rater Owes You
- What Is a Third-Party Quality Control Program, and Why Was My HVAC Final Approved Early?
- Title 24 vs the HERS Index
- What an ECC-Rater Must Do at Your Home: Be There, Measure, Photograph
View all ECC-Raters guides → · CHEERS and ECC · Title 24 guide