Data compiled from consumer watchdogs Consumer Focus, Consumer Direct and the Energy Ombudsman show that complaints about the UK’s ‘big six’ energy providers increased a great deal during the last quarter of this year.
Covering July to September 2011, the figures show that complaints to five of the six largest energy suppliers increased, the only exception being Scottish Power. When compared with data from the same period last year, complaints about EDF Energy have soared to ninety-six percent higher, a startling figure. Consumer Focus operates a complaint-based league table, usually awarding stars to companies depending on the amount of complaints they have received. By receiving one hundred and fifty complaints or more per hundred thousand customers, EDF have the privilege of becoming the first major energy supplier to receive a no-star rating in the league table.
Also losing stars were Npower, who slipped to a two star rating, and E.ON, who fell to three stars. The director of external affairs at Consumer Focus, Adam Scorer, noted: “It is disappointing, but perhaps not surprising, that complaints on energy issues have risen at a time when energy bills are increasing.”
All six of the largest energy providers; E.ON, EDF, SSE, British Gas, Npower, and Scottish Power announced increased rates this year. These increased prices, combined with a rise in the cost of home cover policies like heating insurance means that customers are more likely to complain when they encounter an issue with their service.
This is not a good time for energy suppliers, as they have also come under fire recently from regulatory body Ofgem, who accused them of making company electricity prices too high for existing customers, who are often forced onto higher rates when they renew contracts. They recommended implementing more fixed price energy rates for businesses, as well as seeking more power to punish energy companies that do not adhere to their guidelines.
The issue that customers complained about the most was back billing, where a supplier increases a customer’s bill due to undercharging them in previous months. The area that saw the biggest increase in complaints was communications, mainly centred on suppliers being unreachable over the phone. EDF received over ninety percent of these complaints.
EDF claim that they are in the process of implementing a new billing system and has been since the beginning of the year, which may account for some of the issues customers have had regarding their billing or contacting the company. In a statement, they declared that: “Despite careful planning and the recruitment of over 700 additional customer service staff to protect our service levels to customers through the transition, our customer services operated to a lower standard between May and September. In particular, answering calls to our customer service agents took longer than expected.”
This will provide little comfort to those who have experienced difficulties with the company in recent months. It will be interesting to see whether EDF stay on a no-star rating when the next batch of figures are released.
Tags: company electricity prices, fixed price energy, heating insurance
