AdviceCentre™ Article

Get Smarter: Plebble's guide to energy providers

At Plebble we are looking at some of the sectors we all have problems with to see what are the most common issues and whether there are any lessons we can learn to become smarter consumers. Today we are looking at the dreaded energy providers.

We decided not to include issues you raised about British Gas' Homecare scheme because it is worth an article all to itself. Suffice to say here that, judging by your ratings, it's one to avoid.

Plebble-Raters' top five problems with energy providers (based on your ratings):

1. By far and away the most common complaint was poor administration. In fact 69% of all your complaints about energy providers related to administrative errors. This poor administration caused you a range of problems: court summons to pay inaccurate bills, double billing, not updating meter records which prevented you from switching companies, sending bills to wrong addresses or simply not billing and then demanding massive payments when the error was discovered. The list goes on.

Plebble tips:

i. Although clearly your most significant problem with utility companies, almost 100% of these complaints related only to Npower or British Gas. You had the odd billing error with others in the UK's big 6 energy providers, but were able to sort the problem quickly.

2. Closely related to gripe number 1 was ineffective complaints procedures - companies totally ignoring your attempts to get issues rectified. Even more infuriating when the majority of issues were caused by their poor administration in the first place. Some of you had telephoned, emailed and written letters for several years (!) and were still without response.

Plebble tips:

i. Once again the primary culprits were Npower and British Gas. E.ON, Scottish Power and Scottish & Southern actually received praise for the helpfulness of their customer service and EDF Energy had mixed ratings.

ii. Make sure you have put your complaint in writing. Take a look at Plebble's guide to How to Complain about your energy provider for advice and useful information.

iii. Not responding to correspondence is obviously completely unacceptable. But don't despair, if 8 weeks have passed since you wrote to your company, and you are still unhappy with how they are dealing with it, or have not received a response, you can take your case to the Energy Ombudsman. The Energy Ombudsman is an independent body designed to help resolve issues between domestic & small business customers and energy companies. But beware, there are some restrictions – for example you must have informed the Ombudsman of the issue within 9 months of first reporting it to your company. If in doubt, contact them to ask if they can help.

iv. The Energy Ombudsman cannot help if your energy supplier is not a member of their scheme. All the big 6 are members, but if you are considering an alternative supplier click here to make sure they are listed as a member.

3. Gripe number 3 was poor attitude. At Plebble we find it bewildering that there are still companies out there who don't realise the importance of taking responsibility for customer's problems, regardless of perceived fault, and apologising. As well as practical resolution, many of you spoke about simply wanting acknowledgement and an apology. To a baffled outsider, this doesn't seem to be too difficult a thing to get right.

Plebble tips:

i. This is where Plebble comes in. It is only by being able to show companies the cumulative effect of ignoring things like attitude to customers that they will be able to see the business case for investing in staff training, procedures and pro-active customer engagement. So keep rating and keep using Plebble to inform your consumer decisions. If we all keep working together, we can make even the worst offenders take notice.

4. Your number 4 problem was companies preventing you from switching. This was again linked to poor administration and again, according to your ratings, only a Npower and British Gas problem. Some of you have been forced to stay with a company, often for months, whilst they address administrative errors (eg. incorrect meter registration, bill disputes) which were their fault, but which allow them to prevent you from switching. And of course they do not have an incentive to sort out the problem quickly because they know that, once they've done so, you will be leaving.

Plebble tips:

i. Seek advice from the company you are trying to switch to – check whether the problem your existing company has raised and the timeframe they've given to sort it out sounds reasonable.

ii. If you feel they are being unreasonable, make a formal complaint to them in writing and ask for a response within 14 days or you will take the matter further – i.e. give them an incentive to address the issue quickly (see Plebble's guide to How to Complain about your energy provider for template letters and addresses for complaints).

5. The fifth most common complaint was about selling techniques - pressure and misleading selling by sales agents. It seems you are not alone. The industry regulator, Ofgem, recently fined Npower £1.8 million for failing to address customer complaints about misselling (reported in 'In the News' on 22 Dec 08).

Plebble tips:

i. Ofgem's recent investigation of the energy market found that direct selling rarely gives consumers the best deal. They have put forward proposals designed to make it easier for individual consumers to make price comparisons and switch between companies, particularly for those without access to the internet. If a sales agents comes to your door or approaches you on the street to offer you a better deal on your energy, never sign-up there and then, no matter what they say. Ask to take the information away with you and do your own research to make sure you really are getting a good deal.

ii. Usually the best way to find the best deal is to use a switching website. Click here for Consumer Focus' guide to price comparison, including a link to a list of switching sites.

Your gripes from 6-10 were:

6. Unexplained extra charging on prepayment meters

7. Not crediting refunds in a reasonable timeframe

8. Restrictions and cost of paying in any way except for direct debit

9. Confusing bills

10. Rudeness of staff

The good news is that after it's latest industry probe, Ofgem, has put forward proposals which will mean energy providers will have to simplify bills and justify the different prices they charge for different payment methods. If you want to see the summary of Ofgem's report, click here. Lets hope they put these proposals into effect as soon as possible.

Some places to go for advice & information:

Plebble's guide to How to Complain about your energy provider

The government funded advice centre, Consumer Direct

The consumer pressure group, Consumer Focus

For complaint resolution, the Energy Ombudsman

The industry regulator, Ofgem

Rate these businesses/organisations:

• British Gas (-1.71)
• Npower (-2.95 -)
• EDF Energy (-0.68)
• E.ON (-1.43)
• Scottish Power (-2.96 -)
• Scottish & Southern Energy (0.93)
• Electricity Companies on Plebble.com
• Gas Companies on Plebble.com

Posted by Plebble Admin at 16:19 on 07-Jan-2009