Energy suppliers

Last updated: 30 Sep 2008

Is your capped tariff ending?

A new report reveals that energy suppliers are the lowest performing of all industries when it comes to customer satisfaction - what do you think?

In the first ever energy supplier satisfaction survey from the consumer group Which?, five of the big six companies have achieved satisfaction scores of less than 50%, with Npower performing worst with a score of only 32%.

Npower's customers gave it a resounding thumbs-down for its billing, customer service online support, telephone support and value for money. British Gas, who recently hiked gas prices by a record 35%t, also performed poorly, scoring just 40% for overall satisfaction and awarded just one out of five for value for money.

Utility Warehouse was rated the best supplier in the survey, with a satisfaction score of 72%. Customers awarded the company excellent marks for customer service, the quality of its telephone support and value for money.

One in five Which? members surveyed experienced problems with their supplier over the past 12 months.

These included:

Not getting bills or getting bills with errors on them
Suppliers not coming to read the meter
Problems contacting or resolving queries with suppliers

In addition, just one in three told Which? they'd received any advice on how to save energy.

Suppliers could also be setting direct debits too high. More than one in five gas customers and around one in six electricity customers who pay by direct debit and were in credit with their suppliers said the credit on their account was more than £100. As a result, Which? estimates direct debit customers could have overpaid by around £660m in total.

Energywatch and Consumer Focus

Meanwhile, a further dark cloud is hanging over energy customers. The watchdog Energywatch which deals with energy complaints will be closing on 1 October.

A new body is being set up by the government to fight for the rights of consumers will be called Consumer Focus.

It will be formed through the merger of the National Consumer Council, Energywatch and Postwatch.

Consumer Affairs Minister Gareth Thomas said: "One body, rather than three, means a stronger voice fighting for consumers. It means a joined up and co-ordinated approach to tackling problems, rather than the old fragmented system."

"These difficult economic times make Consumer Focus even more important. I'm sure it will campaign hard for better deals for consumers and do all it can to help people through this period of uncertainty."

If you have an energy related complaint Energywatch's helpline 08459 06 07 08 is operational until 30 September 2008.

After this time if you want to submit your enquiry through a website, you will be able to do this from 1st October through Consumer Direct (www.consumerdirect.gov.uk), the Government helpline, who will be able to give you advice and information on how to complain.

We want to know what you think about this story. Are you unhappy with the service you receive from your energy supplier? Or perhaps you're concerned about Energywatch closing? Are you worried the Consumer Focus merger could make it harder for you to make a complaint? Email us now using the form below