Energy News

Customers ‘unhappy’ with energy price hikes

Thursday 30 October, 2008

By becca.talbot@consumerchoices.co.uk

Following gas and electricity price hikes earlier this year, UK customers are growing increasingly unhappy with their energy suppliers, according to the results of a survey published this week.

The recent Customer Satisfaction Report* found 41% of customers are unsatisfied with the “big six” energy suppliers compared with 33% in October last year, following a year of price hikes and increased bills.

Less than half of customers (45%) said energy companies offered value for money, while only 41% thought their supplier was offering them the best deal.

Scottish & Southern Energy won the title of best supplier for the fifth consecutive year, with 69% of its customers satisfied. However, npower (www.npower.com) suffered a record 17% drop in customer satisfaction, falling to the bottom of the league with 46%.

Ann Robinson, consumer policy director at uSwitch.com, said: “Price rises were never going to be a vote winner but this year’s increases have hit people exceptionally hard and inevitably it has damaged their perception of the industry.

“Sadly this has undone a lot of the hard work suppliers have put in to improving service, setting them back to where they were a couple of years ago.”

The survey questioned 5,465 UK energy customers at the end of September, and its finding come after Gordon Brown called for energy companies to cut bills to reflect the recent falls in oil prices.

The Energy Retail Association, which represents the “big six” energy suppliers, has questioned the findings of the survey. A spokeswoman for the organisation said that despite the survey, complaints about energy companies were on a downward trend, and that they had been falling month-on-month to their lowest recorded levels.

“Customer service is an issue that all energy companies take exceptionally seriously, our competitive market means that customers make decisions to switch supplier based on more than just price differentials,” she said.

She continued: “The survey highlights this and is a useful indicator of where individual suppliers need to improve.”

npower’s head of residential customer services, Julie Jaglowski, said of the company’s fall to the bottom of the list: “We are very disappointed with the survey results. Our aim is to see our customers happy, not just satisfied, and we are working hard to make customer service the focus of our company.”

Jaglowski continued: “We are expanding our call centres, which are all UK-based, and have recruited an additional 300 people across the whole of our customer services operations this year.”

npower has seen an overall 17% decline in customer satisfaction, with particularly noticeable falls in areas including value for money (-20%), customer service (-8%), billing services (-10%) and meter services (-10%).

Chris Eagle, commercial manager at EnergyChoices.co.uk says: “If you are unhappy about the service you are receiving from your energy supplier, it is important you voice your concerns. You also need to ensure you are on the tariff that offers you the best value for money, which may mean switching suppliers. Use our online comparison tool to compare prices and find a deal that suits you.”

He continues: “If you are worried about estimated bills then make sure you give your supplier an up-to-date meter reading, and sign up to an online account to guarantee your bills are accurate.”

*Poll carried out by uSwitch.com, October 2008

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