Research shows biling issues is the biggest concern for energy customers

Long waiting times, the way complaints are handled, and increases in energy bills are among the many concerns consumers have with their energy providers. The biggest grievance now for consumers, though, according to Citizens Advice, is inaccurate and late bills.

The accuracy of bills remains the most common reasons for complaints, with it accounting for around 60% of all issues. This was much higher than the other areas. For example, 17% of customers were concerned about customer service and 12% about call waiting times.

Citizens Advice uses star ratings to determine which suppliers had the highest satisfaction levels. This included a number of factors, including bill accuracy, how swiftly complaints were resolved, and general customer service.

The top five were:

• Breeze Energy
• So Energy
• EDF Energy
• Octopus Energy
• SSE

The five worst were:

• Nabuh Energy
• Utilita
• Green Star Energy
• Outfox the Market
• Ecotricity

The research found that bill errors were common among three out of five of the most poorly ranked suppliers: Outfox The Market, Green Star, and Ecotricity. It also found that long call times were still a problem, as many consumers prefer to contact their suppliers over the phone when there are issues with their bill or service.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice: “Every energy supply company should be able to provide its customers with an accurate bill. It is the very least people should expect. The inability of some suppliers to get this right causes a great deal of unnecessary stress for customers.”

Jodi Hamilton, relationships director at the Energy Ombudsman added: “At a time when consumers are savvier and more price-sensitive than ever, accurate and timely billing is a vital foundation for any energy supplier looking to build and maintain trust with its customers. We are keen to work with energy suppliers of all sizes to help them resolve more billing disputes in-house and reduce the number of complaints that come to us.”