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British Gas came bottom in Which?’s annual energy firm survey, as the consumer champion calls on providers to improve unsatisfactory customer service and ensure they are providing value for money.
Energy prices have stayed punishingly high this winter – with the price cap currently at £1,928 a year for a typical household. Cornwall Insight predicts prices will likely remain above pre-2021 levels until the end of the decade.
Fixed deals have been slowly returning to the market but Which? has seen few offers that are significantly cheaper than the price cap. With little chance for consumers to save money by switching suppliers, customer service is more important than ever and a major factor people use to sort good suppliers from bad.
In October 2023, Which? surveyed more than 9,000 energy customers for its annual customer satisfaction survey. The consumer champion also carried out an in-depth assessment of 18 energy firms’ behind-the-scenes practices and policies to find out which energy firms are powering ahead and which are falling short.
There is little to separate the firms with the lowest customer scores in Which?’s customer satisfaction survey. Boost, Scottish Power, Ovo Energy, Shell Energy, EDF Energy, Eon Next and British Gas were the worst performers and received customer scores of less than 60 per cent.
However, factoring in Which?’s in-depth assessment of companies’ practices puts British Gas as the worst performing energy firm overall, followed jointly by Boost (part of Ovo) and So Energy. Last year, it was firmly in the middle of the pack.
British Gas supplies over a fifth of households in Great Britain but received the lowest overall score of 56 percent. In Which?’s customer satisfaction survey, it received just two stars for most categories – including accessibility (whether you can engage with your energy provider the way you want or need to), value for money and accuracy of energy payments. It received three stars – an average score – for customer service overall.
In the consumer champion’s behind-the-scenes assessment, British Gas received just over half marks for customer service and just one point out of 10 for performance against its smart meter targets. It also received four out of 10 for how it handled complaints – losing points primarily for the volume of customer complaints it received per 100,000 customer accounts in the first half of 2023 in comparison to other suppliers.
At the other end of the scale, three firms powered ahead of the competition – with Octopus Energy, Ecotricity and E (Gas & Electricity) achieving coveted Which? Recommended Provider (WRP) status and getting the highest customer scores. Octopus Energy was named a WRP for the seventh year running. It received an overall score of 73 per cent. It was also the only firm to achieve a five-star rating for overall customer service in the consumer champion’s customer satisfaction survey.
Ecotricity and E (Gas & Electricity) were also named WRPs with overall scores of 72 and 71 per cent respectively. Both firms also scored highly for customer service in Which?’s customer satisfaction survey – receiving four stars for their overall customer service and quality of communications about energy costs.
During an unrelenting energy crisis, it is more crucial than ever that any energy firms that are falling short up their game and improve their customer service. A quarter of people Which? surveyed who had engaged with their energy firm in the last year to get help with a problem said the company had made it difficult.
Which? is campaigning for companies to improve their customer service. Customer service standards dropped for many businesses during the pandemic – but in too many cases they have not returned to an acceptable level. It is clear that waiting times need to be cut, customers should be getting better help with their queries and businesses need stronger incentives to up their game.
The consumer champion wants consumers to be able to easily contact companies, without unnecessary barriers and in the way that suits them best – whether that is speaking to a person or a chatbot. Everyone should be able to get the answers they need without long waits or endless loops, be kept informed and treated fairly, with empathy and as an individual.
Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said “With energy prices still punishingly high and limited chances for consumers to save money by switching suppliers, good customer service is more important than ever.
“While Octopus Energy, Ecotricity and E were all named Which? Recommended Providers and scored highly for their customer service, others fell short of customers’ expectations.“Which? is calling for any providers who are falling short on customer service to up their game and ensure customers are able to contact them easily and get the answers they need.”
