The number of complaints made about energy suppliers rocketed in the third quarter of 2011, with EDF the worst offender, according to watchdog Consumer Focus.
The figures from July to September 2011 show an increase in complaints to five of the "Big Six" suppliers – Scottish Power being the exception – with complaints about EDF 91% higher than in the same quarter in 2010.
Consumer Focus gives each supplier a star rating based on the number of complaints received. EDF Energy's continued increase in complaints has led to it becoming the first supplier with a zero star rating in the league table. This is awarded when a company has 150 complaints or more per 100,000 customers.
Npower and E.ON also dropped a star rating, leaving them with two and three stars respectively, while despite a 13% rise in complaints from the previous quarter Scottish & Southern Energy was the only supplier awarded a five star rating. This means it has fewer than 50 complaints per 100,000 customers.
Adam Scorer, director of external affairs at Consumer Focus, said: "It is disappointing, but perhaps not surprising, that complaints on energy issues have risen at a time when energy bills are increasing.
"Energy companies have repeatedly said they want to rebuild consumer trust. Good customer service and complaints handling are key ingredients to building consumer trust, but suppliers still have a long way to go."
The most complained about issue was back billing, whereby a householder is hit with higher bills because they were undercharged by their supplier for a period of time. The biggest rise in complaints was about communication issues, where customers were unable to reach their supplier over the phone. More than 90% of these complaints were about EDF.
"Its [EDF's] current complaints performance is unacceptable and the company must take further steps to tackle this," Scorer said.
The energy giant said it is in the process of implementing a new billing system, which it started installing at the beginning of the year and which has led to numerous billing and communication issues.
"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," EDF said in a statement.
"As soon as delays occurred we recruited an additional 400 service staff, which naturally took time to become effective, and we slowed down our plan to move customers on to the new system to ensure service levels were stabilised and restored. The actions taken and investments made are paying off and the service to our customers is improving."
The Consumer Focus complaints data is published every three months and is based on customer contacts with Consumer Direct, Consumer Focus and the Energy Ombudsman.
Energy suppliers are also required to publish complaint numbers on their own websites, though these are often buried and almost impossible to find. Five of the six suppliers complied with the rule requiring them to publish this year, with npower suffering the worst customer complaint record.
Comments
9 December 2011 11:55AM
People could always try an alternative supplier and leave the big ones alone.
The Co-op is now in the utilities business.
9 December 2011 12:07PM
When that COW Thatcher PRIVATISED the Utility companies, and appointed TORY Ministers to run them, we were TOLD it would introduce compettition into the market and DRIVE DOWN prices !!
The actuality is that the only competition is between the suppliers as to who can get away with charging us the most !
9 December 2011 12:26PM
In 2017 we hit an enrgy crisi in this country, as our electricity demand outstrips supply. The reason for this has been years of under investment in new power stations as the private energy companies have mothballed old stations instead of upgrading them. Now we have a chancellor which seems to be hell bent on destroying what incentives we have for the production of renewables, and Chris Huhne, set upon the building of 8 Nuclear Power plants, not matter what the future cost to our grandchildren will be.
If our energy supplies were still nationalised an integrated energy production strategy could have been developed. Instead we will have a major crisis, which will force whatever government in power to actually address the situation.
The trouble then we will be more dependant on fuel imports and rising costs. The answer is to nationalise all the enrgy companies NOW.
However with this weak condem government in power that will never happen, tey are to beholden to the lobbyists of these companies and their money.
Enjoy what you can of the next five yrs, after that the lights will start going out on a regular basis. we are without a doubt, now a third world 'banana' republic.
9 December 2011 2:52PM
I watched Thatcher on the TV the other night standing next to a British Bulldog, I was willing the mutt to take a lump out of her leg, but there again the poor animal would have probably come down with food poisoning.
9 December 2011 3:17PM
Their practices are getting much worse. E.ON wrote today to say they are raising my bill by 60% - didn't say why. Yet the account is £700 in credit and growing. Meter readings are up to date. When I spoke with their call centre they were utterly apologetic, could not justify the 60% that "head office" had dreamed up. The regulators really do need to get some teeth!
9 December 2011 5:02PM
Yes, and they charge you more depending on where you live in the country and call that a fair tariff. I'll take EDF's crap service but slower price increases any day, whenever they fix their call centre problems.
As for madmonty's doomsaying, I'm sitting here without the heating on just because the real cold has arrived in February for the past five years and the timing of my bill is Christmas week. Happy to come back in 2016 for him to say I told you so, but for the moment there's no-one to switch to until I see what that bill looks like, because I refuse to let any of them shove me on a direct debit and basically nick money from my account whenever they want, as seems to be happening to Robert4Shaw.
9 December 2011 5:19PM
However I understand that some people feel the cold as it is right now and not everyone has the choice I do to layer up and only flick the switch for heat when I need it most (ie first thing in the morning and then later on at night).
9 December 2011 7:35PM
The easiest way to increase cashflow through the business is to increase already overestimated bills.
Someone must pay for the directors' Christmas lunch - in this instance it's you personally.
Trebles all round!
9 December 2011 10:00PM
Nethlyn,
You may want to check more closely your bill from EDF - all the suppliers charge different rates depending on which part of the country you live in. This is because the energy infrastructure costs differ depending on where you live.
The co-op are very plain and make their charges clear to understand - perhaps that's why you're aware of their charges.
10 December 2011 3:15PM
I think there is perfect understanding; the public and customers certainly understand that the energy companies are thieving bastards, ripping us off in an unregulated market. They have our balls in a vice and know it. They should be re-nationalised; that was an unwise experiment that failed.
11 December 2011 12:16AM
@Nethlyn
Now we are no longer players in Europe, what happens to our ability to determine prices of our power as all our energy companies are French or German?
11 December 2011 7:03PM
The UK business of EDF is owned by a Hong Kong consortium, Original EDF flogged it last year. So far that consortium (in my region anyway, cheers VSLVSL) have gone for price over service, something I'm not complaining about, all I want from them is a bill.
It would also depend on whether those German firms located here wanted to send us nuclear when they're phasing it out at home, sadly there's all that green tariff malarkey also getting in the way of our getting energy at a decent price. No idea whether being 1st or 2nd gear in Europe will make any difference if the firms already own the subsidiaries here, hopefully they won't all go down the drain like Thames Water.