UK energy: about 14m households getting ‘below-average’ service

Approximately 14 million households in the UK are receiving “below average” customer service from their energy supplier, a consumer group has warned.Citizens Advice said energy suppliers must improve their service, as its survey of 16 companies showed that half of gas and electricity consumers are with suppliers scoring less than three out of five stars for their customer service.The study found the average customer service score between October and December was 3.09 out of five.With more than 9 million households struggling to afford their energy bills, consumers need confidence they will get strong customer service support when things go wrong, Citizens Advice said. It added that suppliers must treat customers fairly and provide reliable support during financial hardship, including affordable payment plans.Ecotricity was ranked top, with a customer service rating – based on factors including accuracy of billing and fully functioning smart meters – of 3.93 and an overall rating of 3.5 stars out of five.It was followed by Outfox Energy, Octopus Energy and Co-operative Energy. TruEnergy was bottom of the table with a rating of 1.9 and one-and-a-half stars.Of the big six suppliers, Octopus and E.ON Next were the best performing, in third and fifth place respectively. However, three of the six biggest suppliers had a below-average rating, with British Gas performing the worst and EDF Energy sitting just above.EDF was in 13th place with a rating of 2.6, followed by British Gas on 2.28 and Utilita with a rating of 2.24.Of the other big six suppliers, ScottishPower was in ninth place with a rating of 3.11 and three stars, followed by Ovo Energy in 10th place scoring 2.76 and two-and-a-half stars.The difference between the two largest suppliers in the table – Octopus and British Gas – was 1.5 stars, demonstrating a huge range in service even among the most widely used suppliers.Citizens Advice said more needed to be done to ensure customers can easily contact their energy supplier and get problems resolved quickly, as customer service issues only added to an already stressful situation.The charity urged companies to prioritise customer needs, particularly for those who were vulnerable including people struggling to pay their bills, parents with young children, and those on prepayment meters. Previous research by Ofgem and Citizens Advice showed vulnerable consumers were more likely to experience poor customer service.The survey measured suppliers on bill accuracy, smart meter functionality and whether they can be contacted through a range of channels.Clare Moriarty, the chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Half of households are served by suppliers who need to up their game on some of the basics of customer service, like fast response time to calls and emails, or ensuring that billing and complaints are handled properly.“Suppliers that are falling short need to look at what the best performers are doing and close that gap. With more than 9 million households increasingly worried about paying their bills and heating their homes, it’s vital that people can rely on getting helpful service from their energy supplier when they need it.”With concern growing over how escalating war in the Middle East could increase household bills, the trade association Energy UK urged the government to step up efforts to ensure that any intervention to support customers was targeted at those most in need.Projections from suppliers suggest customers could face a rise of as much as £250 on their annual bill. This would still be some way short of the record bills after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but the longer the Iran war goes on, the greater the risk that costs reach the levels at which the government was compelled to subsidise bills for domestic and business customers in 2022.Energy UK called for the government to bring together a “vaccine-style taskforce” including ministers and senior officials as well as energy industry data experts to urgently assess options.