New industry figures show an overall drop in complaints made against Britain’s leading energy suppliers.
Statistics published by watchdog Consumer Focus for the second quarter of 2011 show that only one gas and electricity provider – EDF Energy – experienced an increase in customer dissatisfaction over the period.
Scottish and Southern Energy was the best performer, and became the only company to be awarded a five-star rating for customer service by Consumer Focus.
What the ratings mean
Every three months, Consumer Focus analyses the number of complaints brought by energy customers to Consumer Direct, the Energy Ombudsman, and Consumer Focus itself.
These are compared to each firm’s total number of customers to arrive at a star rating.
The seriousness of each complaint is also taken into account when the rating is calculated.
As well as Scottish and Southern improving its rating, British Gas maintained its four-star award while E.ON upped its rating from three to four stars.
The two remaining big six firms, npower and Scottish Power, both saw their ratings rise from two to three stars.
A Consumer Focus spokesman said that EDF’s low rating was likely to be due at least in part to the implementation of a new billing system and associated teething problems.
Seasonal variations
The general fall in complaints, however, could be due to seasonal factors, the watchdog admitted.
The number of cases was especially low in April, which could have been a result of the higher than usual number of bank holidays during the month.
Consumer Direct also reduced its opening hours as of 1 April, which may have been further cause of declining complaint volumes.
What to do if you have a complaint
If you have a problem with your gas or electricity supplier, you should complain to that firm directly in the first instance.
If you are not given a satisfactory response within eight weeks, Consumer Direct has a complaint form that can be filled in online on its website.
If a resolution still can not be found, you will be given a deadlock letter: this means that all complaint procedures have been exhausted and you and your energy supplier can not agree on a resolution.
In this case you can take the matter to The Energy Ombudsman (telephone 0330 440 1624 or 01925 530263).
If you accept the ombudsman’s ruling, the company has 28 days to comply with it: this could involve writing you a letter of apology as well as paying compensation, for example.
If you are unsatisfied with your energy supplier, also read our guide to switching energy suppliers.
