Extra Energy remains bottom of complaints table

Extra Energy has remained at the bottom of the Citizens Advice complaints table for a second quarter in a row.

The independent supplier recorded the highest ever complaints ratio (1791.2 per 100,000 customers) and performed 80 times worse than the best performing supplier SSE. According to Citizens Advice, this is the biggest gap between the best and worst suppliers since the table began five years ago.

SSE retained its position at the top of the table with a complaints ration of 22.5 per 100,000 customers, compared to 28.4 the previous quarter.

SSE group managing director Will Morris said: “This quarter’s league table shows the idea that smaller suppliers always provide a better service is a myth.

“Our customer service teams go above and beyond to make sure any issues customers may have are resolved quickly and efficiently. We’re immensely proud to see their hard work has paid off and SSE’s score has improved once again, reflecting our long established service culture.”

EDF Energy, British Gas and Eon also made the top five, with Scottish Power below Npower in nineteenth position.

Npower slashed complaints by over a third but remained in the same rank as Spark Energy entered the table in a higher position.

Citizens Advice’s latest table also showed Flow Energy fell from second best performer to tenth place, with a fourfold increase in its complaints ratio and Ecotricity doubled its complaints ratio compared to the previous three months.

Common problems reported about worst performing supplier Extra Energy, included late or inaccurate bills and difficulty getting through to its customer service team on the phone when they had an issue to resolve.

Extra Energy managing director Ben Jones said: “These figures reflect historic customer service issues that occurred during a period of time where Extra Energy saw our number of customers expand rapidly and unfortunately some of these complaints have taken longer than expected to resolve.”

Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: “People shouldn’t face a gamble on getting good customer service. The latest league table shows some suppliers are getting much better at sorting out their customers’ problems, but it’s disappointing to see others getting worse at dealing with complaints.

“Patchy and unpredictable customer service affects people in many ways – from the financial stress of being hit with a late bill, to the time wasted trying to get hold of a supplier on the phone.

“All suppliers must step up their efforts to make sure they are delivering a consistently high standard for their customers.”

The charity publishes the quarterly results of the 21 largest energy firms to show customers how well they are dealing with complaints. Suppliers’ scores are calculated based on the seriousness of the complaint against them and how long it took to resolve.