Energy firms 'must up their game' on complains

Tuesday, 30 June 2009 07:13

Gas and electricity are still hitting the net when it comes to handling complaints.

Watchdog Ofgem has found only three out of four customers were not satisfied with the way complaints are dealt with. Billing and prices are the most common cause of complaint among all customers.

Consumers were particularly unhappy with the number of times they had to contact the supplier, suppliers who promised to call back but didn't, the attitude of some staff and the fact that suppliers often viewed the problem as resolved when in the customer's eyes it was not.

Npower scored lowest with 16 per cent satisfaction, but the best performers were not that much better.

Scottish & Southern Energy and E.On rated top with just 29 per cent satisfaction.

Scottish Power scored 24 per cent, Centrica 20 per cent and EDF 20 per cent.

The slump in satisfaction comes despite energy firms investing highly in preparation for new complaint handling standards introduced last year.

Ofgem Chief Executive, Alistair Buchanan, said: "It is in suppliers' best interests to ensure that the service they provide is of a high standard. This is clearly an opportunity for them to raise the bar to retain existing customers and attract new ones.

"With the systems and processes in place, the challenge now for companies was to really listen to what their customers were saying and look at how they could address their concerns."

Audrey Gallacher, customer services expert for Consumer Focus, said the findings come as no surprise, after the watchdog's own research found one in ten people regarded energy companies as treating their customers well.

"Energy suppliers are consistently rated as giving poor customer service," she said.

"It is clear that the new standards are not yet paying dividends for consumers and that energy firms need to really listen to, and act upon, their customers' complaints."

She added: "We would urge consumers who are dissatisfied with the service they receive to vote with their feet and switch supplier."

Npower aimed to defend itself by stating it has implemented new complaint handling regulations, invested over £200 million and employed more staff.

"We have changed the way we handle complaints and trained our advisors so that the regulations become part of our normal processes," a spokesperson said.

"When the survey took place we were dealing with the consequences of transferring several million customers from one billing system to another. So the survey results are of course disappointing but on this occasion they are not unexpected."

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