Citizens Advice reveals WORST energy companies for customer service: is your provider on the list?

EDF has been named the worst energy company for customer service by consumer organization Citizens Advice.

Utilita was the second worst company for customer problems, with British Gas in third place.

But no energy company fared well in the Citizens Advice rankings, with only one energy company achieving a score above 3.3 out of 5 stars.

Citizens Advice reviewed its customer service between January and March this year, when record numbers came to the charity for help with energy problems.

Average viewing figures are down 10.5 percent compared to the same period in 2021, and have leveled off since late 2023.

Citizens Advice says customer service standards have still not returned to pre-energy crisis levels.

Higher prices meant that many more people needed support from their suppliers with problems such as debt and the forced installation of prepayment meters.

According to the latest star rating, EDF and Utilita are at the bottom of the table, with Ecotricity at the top.

EDF had a score of 3.45 stars at the end of 2023, making it the third best energy company in terms of customer service at the time.

Citizens Advice said EDF has fallen to the bottom of the rankings as average call waiting times have risen from just under a minute to more than five minutes in less than a year.

An EDF spokesperson said: ‘We recognize that our response times are not meeting the high standards we have set for ourselves and we are committed to doing better and returning to the market-leading service our customers expect.

‘We have recruited and trained more people across our Sunderland, Brighton and Exeter offices and are nearing the end of a complex transfer of our residential clients to a new IT system, which will see more clients contacting us as we navigate this process. ‘

Citizens Advice added that customer waiting times improved across all energy companies, but their shared problems with resolving complaints were dragging down their ratings.

Clare Moriarty, CEO of Citizens Advice, said: ‘When millions are struggling to afford basic needs, it is completely unacceptable that energy companies are failing to provide the right support to their customers.

‘Citizens Advice has long called for Ofgem to be given stronger powers to hold suppliers to account on customer service. This also includes eliminating the backlog of complaints before next winter.’

A spokesperson for Utilita said: ‘We shouldn’t underestimate how smart consumers are today. They will realize that the star rating contradicts other market-wide supplier ratings – including those from Ofgem, Trustpilot and Which? – where Utilita consistently performs well.

‘The latest star rating is also an anomaly when the findings are compared with those of the Energy Consumer Satisfaction Survey. The in-depth report, jointly commissioned by Citizens Advice and the regulator, ranked Utilita second for customer service among medium to large suppliers.”

‘As such, we look forward to an ongoing dialogue to bridge the gap between the perception provided by the Citizens Advice star rating and the reality provided by other rankings.’

A spokesperson for British Gas said: ‘We have invested heavily in our customer operations – this includes hiring an additional 700 UK contact center agents at the end of last year, introducing longer call center opening hours and providing additional training to our dedicated colleagues on field of contact centers. supporting customers in financial difficulties.’