Move over the Big Six – the trend shows that it’s the smaller, more independent energy suppliers that come up trumps in the customer service ratings.
Should I choose an energy supplier based on customer service or price?
When we compare energy suppliers, most of us focus on the price. We want to save on our annual consumption and typically the best way to do that is by switching energy suppliers. But there should be other considerations too.
Customer service should always be on your radar. If there is an issue with your energy supply or a recent bill, for example, the last thing you want is a slack service leading to unresolved issues.
Feeling valued, ease of lodging a complaint, efficient resolutions or simply the ease of switching should be at the forefront of your search as well. By no means do cheap energy deals go hand in hand with poor service – in fact, some of the most affordable tariffs are from companies with sterling reviews – but it’s important to be aware of supplier ratings when you run your energy comparison.
Which energy supplier has the best customer service?
Citizens Advice Bureau rank UK energy suppliers for their customer service on five points: number of complaints, ease of contact, ease of switching, bill clarity and customer guarantees.
For the period of July to September 2020, the following energy suppliers ranked top. We should also note a stark connection between these suppliers: all of them have a 100% renewable energy fuel mix.
Green – 4.65/5. Customers ranked Green 5 stars in all metrics bar complaints, which scored a 4. With an average wait of only 15 seconds to speak to a customer service agent and 99.9% of queries responded to within two days, we can see why they’re ranked so highly.
M&S Energy – 4.55/5. Customers gave 5 stars for bill clarity, ease of switching and customer guarantees. 87.7% of emails are responded to within two working days and on average you’ll speak to an agent within 28 seconds.
So Energy – 4.35/5. The first supplier to receive 5 stars for number of complaints, with only 3.9 per every 10,000 customers; however, only 43% of emails are responded to within two working days. 5 stars are also given for ease of switching and customer guarantees.
Octopus Energy – 4.3/5. Scoring top marks for bill clarity, ease of switching and customer guarantees, Octopus responds to 69% of queries within two working days and has, on average, 13 complaints for every 10,000 customers – the same as M&S Energy and Green.
Affect Energy – 4.15/5. While very few complaints are lodged against Affect and customers love their bill clarity, only 84.2% of switches were completed within 15 days and their vulnerability commitment is average.
Of course, subjectivity plays a role in these rankings as each customer will have their own experience. Similarly, results can vary across research institutes – for example, Uswitch ran their own survey yielding different rankings: Octopus Energy, Bulb, Ecotricity, Good Energy, Ovo and Utility Warehouse all received five starts from customers.
So, looking at these two pools of data, you could infer that Octopus Energy is the best supplier for customer service as it features in both listings, but it depends where you look.
Big six customer service
According to Ofgem, when it comes to gas supply it’s E.ON who takes the lead in customer satisfaction. This is across the areas of: the supplier’s service, bill clarity, ease of contact, feeling valued by the supplier and whether customers would recommend them. By contrast, npower rank lowest in these categories for customer satisfaction.
For electricity supply, SSE and British Gas are ranked equally top for bill clarity, ease of contact and whether customers would recommend them. More customers are satisfied with SSE’s service than any other, whereas customers feel British Gas values them the most.
That being said, for all of the Big Six suppliers less than half of customers think their supplier values them or would recommend them.
Where can I compare energy providers?
If you’ve had enough of poor service, feel undervalued as a consumer and are sick of inaccurate bills, then it’s time to switch to a supplier – the energy market is so competitive you will get better customer service with another provider.
You can use our energy comparison tool to find energy deals in your area. Simply pop in your postcode and we’ll show you which suppliers and tariffs are available. You can filter by price, but remember to consider customer service too – so keep an eye out for the logos of our recommended energy suppliers!