UK energy: about 14m households getting ‘below-average’ service

UK energy: about 14m households getting ‘below-average’ service Ecotricity ranked top in Citizens Advice survey, followed by Outfox, Octopus and Co-operative Business live – latest updates Around 14 million households in the UK are receiving “below average” customer service from their energy supplier, a consumer group has warned. Citizens Advice said energy suppliers must improve their service, as its survey of 16 companies showed that half of gas and electricity consumers are with suppliers scoring less than three out of five stars for their customer service. The study found the average customer service score between October and December was 3.09 out of five. With more than nine million households struggling to afford their energy bills, consumers need confidence they will get strong customer service support when things go wrong, Citizens Advice said. It added that suppliers must treat customers fairly and provide reliable support during financial hardship, including affordable payment plans. Ecotricity was ranked top, with a customer service rating – based on factors including accuracy of billing and fully functioning smart meters – of 3.93 and an overall rating of 3.5 stars out of five. It was followed by Outfox Energy, Octopus Energy and Co-operative Energy. TruEnergy was bottom of the table with a rating of 1.9 and one-and-a-half stars. Of the big six suppliers, Octopus and E.ON Next were the best performing, in third and fifth place respectively. However, three of the six biggest suppliers had a below-average rating, with British Gas performing the worst and EDF Energy sitting just above. EDF was in 13th place with a rating of 2.6, followed by British Gas on 2.28 and Utilita with a rating of 2.24. Of the other big six suppliers, ScottishPower was in ninth place with a rating of 3.11 and three stars, followed by Ovo Energy in 10th place scoring 2.76 and two-and-a-half stars. The difference between the two largest suppliers in the table – Octopus and British Gas...