The charity’s energy watchdog found that customer service was at its worst since 2017, with the highest customer service rating of just 3.85 out of five compared to 3.95 in the previous quarter – June to September 2021 – and 4, 40 between October and December 2020. The average call waiting time was over five minutes, compared to about four minutes in the same period last year. Customers with the worst performing vendors face a waiting time of about 15 minutes. The top suppliers were M&S Energy, EDF Energy, Octopus Energy, Affect Energy and So Energy, while the worst performing suppliers were Utilita, Boost Power, Ecotricity, Good Energy and Ovo. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:28 Liberal Democrats criticize Tories for rising energy bills The lowest score among them was 1.70 compared to 2.10 in the previous quarter – a drop of 19%. Coming a few days after the energy price ceiling, which runs until September 31, it rose 54% to 97 1,971 a year, a record increase largely due to wholesale gas prices. Citizens Advice CEO Dame Clare Moriarty said: “With millions of people struggling to make ends meet as the cost of living skyrockets, it is more important than ever for people to be able to turn to their energy company for support. . “The decline in customer service standards is coming at the worst possible time. “It’s Ofgem’s job to ensure that companies provide good services. But the current system does not work. “What is needed is a consumer duty focused on ensuring that customers are performing well. With bills expected to skyrocket again in October, there is no time to lose.” Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:18 Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy, shares tips for lower bills A Good Energy spokesman said: “We are disappointed with our drop in Citizens Advice’s customer service ranking. The last quarter of 2021 was a difficult quarter for our team and our resources as the energy crisis hit and we saw many suppliers collapse. “We are committed to excellent service and it is more important now than ever.” Utilita said: “As a company we really appreciate the fact that Citizens Advice’s energy rating is evaluated every three months, because we operate in an area where change is constant. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:42 Kit Malthouse says the government is doing everything it can to help with the cost of living “However, it is also worth acknowledging that the star rating does not fully represent what customers need from an energy supplier today. It does not take into account the financial support we provided in almost 200,000 cases during the reporting period, nor the millions of households that “Our Energy High 5 campaign has helped reduce energy consumption.” Ecotricity co-founder Dale Vince said: “We have seen a significant increase in customer contact during the energy crisis, with a trend towards longer calls. (and) it was a challenging time. “We are working hard to improve performance and fortunately we have already made great strides since these numbers were recorded last year.”
