Small energy suppliers have fallen victim to a growing number of customer complaints according to Citizens Advice. It seems the businesses have grown so quickly that they are unable to service their customers properly.
The quarterly complaints league has for the first time included the top 18 biggest energy firms rather than just the big six. Citizens Advice’s head of retail markets Gillian Cooper said:
“If you look at all the small suppliers, most of them have been growing quite rapidly. Some of the independent companies at the bottom of the table have taken on large numbers of new customers and that may be causing some teething problems with complaints.”
The Big Six have been in the firing line in recent months for rising complaints so it just goes to show that no matter the size of the company, customers expect to be treated fairly and the business’ reputation is at stake.
Npower and Scottish Power were both hit with a wave of complaints after issues with their new billing systems while some of the newer suppliers, First Utility, Spark Energy and Extra Energy just couldn’t keep up with demand.
Extra Energy received the highest number of complaints amongst the independents, with only big six supplier Scottish Power receiving more complaints overall.
Of course, what’s most important is the way that complaints are handled. Ecotricity, Good Energy and Green Star performed well on handling customer complaints while the rest dwindled behind.
Cooper said: “There are eight small suppliers in the top 12 and their performance is significantly better than the companies at the bottom of the table. What it also shows is that some of the big six have invested a lot of money in getting their complaints performance up to scratch.”
So while the media will report the number of complaints made against a supplier, they don’t often show how the complaints are dealt with and the level of service a customer can expect to receive.
At Business Juice, we have the insiders scoop. We’ll tell you exactly which suppliers to go with for customer service and who to avoid for complaint resolution.
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