Three major energy firms have been warned they must “urgently” improve their customer service – slammed for failing to provide quick and effective solutions when things go wrong.
Scottish Power, Ovo Energy and British Gas are the worst culprits for slow and unhelpful support, according to new analysis from Which?.
Thousands of customers have complained about their experiences with the suppliers to the watchdog over the last six months.
An overwhelming frustration shared in many of these stories is that companies are not providing prompt responses and resolutions when people get in touch about a problem.
All too often, this means customers are being left on hold, stuck in never-ending chatbot loops, or passed from department to department with no resolution or helpful answer to their query, Which? said.
Rocio Concha, Which? Director of Policy and Advocacy, said: “Customer service is in a dire state in vital areas and some companies are routinely failing their customers – leaving them frustrated and stuck in endless loops trying to get help.
“Scottish Power, Ovo Energy and British Gas all fared poorly in Which? research on which firms are best for giving quick and effective solutions when things go wrong.
“Failings in this area are particularly unacceptable when sky-high energy prices have left families and households struggling to make ends meet.”
In Which?’s 2023 customer service survey, a quarter (25 per cent) said they were unhappy with their most recent customer service experience with their energy provider, the highest score across the energy, financial services, retail, and telecoms sectors.
Scottish Power came bottom, receiving a satisfaction score of about -13 out of a possible +100 for how long it took to get in touch with a person who could help and three for how long it took to get an answer to an issue or query.
One customer said that after being left on hold when trying to phone his supplier about a billing issue and then speaking to an agent who was unable to help, he suffered sleepless nights and anxiety over his unresolved billing problem.
Another said he lived in fear of a visit from bailiffs after Scottish Power passed him from agent to agent and failed to fix an incorrect bill.
Ovo Energy followed close behind with a satisfaction score of -7 for how long it took to get in touch with a person who could help and seven for how long it took to get an answer to an issue or query.
An Ovo Energy customer told Which? about how he decided to switch providers after Ovo staff were “rude” and unhelpful after he spent over 20 minutes waiting to speak to them about a billing issue.
British Gas fared better with a satisfaction score of 16 for how long it took to get in touch with a person who could help and 23 for how long it took to get an answer to an issue or query.
But its scores were still far below Octopus Energy, who performed best for quick and effective customer service – with a satisfaction score of 46 for how long it took to get in touch with a person who could help and 55 for how long it took to get an answer to an issue or query.
E.ON Next also performed well, scoring 35 for how long it took to get in touch and 25 for how long it took to get a query answered.
These findings highlight just how dramatically the quality of customer service can vary between individual firms.
The consumer group warned it is “never ok” for firms to provide sub-standard customer service, but in an essential sector providing vital services millions rely on every day such as energy it is “completely unacceptable”, it said.
Which? is asking all consumers to help shape its campaigning by sharing their customer service nightmare stories using a simple online tool.
Ms Concha added: “While many consumers will rightly consider switching, these firms must urgently make improvements, so all customers are getting the standard of service and support they need and deserve.”
British Gas said: “We’re investing over £50 million in customer service – this includes hiring 700 more UK-based contact centre staff at the end of last year and introducing longer call centre opening times. We’re also helping our most vulnerable customers through our sector leading £140m customer support package.”
An OVO spokesperson said: “The findings are unrepresentative of the typical service levels our teams work very hard to provide. Our customers reach us via phone in just over a minute and our teams respond to emails within two working days.
“Whilst we recognise that we don’t always get it right, our customer data suggests that 7/10 customers are ‘very satisfied’ with the service they receive from us. We recognise that there is always more to be done and we are committed to listening to and learning from feedback.”
A spokesperson for ScottishPower said: “We don’t recognise the results of this small-sample survey. They’re at odds with a larger study by Citizens Advice – based on real operational data, measuring millions of emails and calls – that ranked ScottishPower as the best of the large suppliers for call answering and email turnaround.
“In that more robust study, 98 per cent of customer emails were responded to within 2 days and our average speed of answering phone enquiries is under 110 seconds. On top of this ScottishPower also offers a live chat facility from 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week.
“We’ve worked tirelessly to improve and enhance our services for all of our customers and will continue to do everything we can to help them.”
