So Energy falls out of Citizens Advice top 10

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Disruptor brand So Energy (SE) has plunged out of the top 10 in Citizens Advice’s star ratings table after a three-year run as one of the market’s most highly-rated retailers.

Releasing its latest ratings for Q4 2020 the consumer charity revealed SE was awarded a score of 3.45 and had dropped to 12th place overall, having never previously dipped below fifth.

Average call wait times for SE increased significantly between quarters. In Q3 the average time was just over 1 minute but this rose to just over eight minutes in Q4.

SE blamed its drop out of the top 10 on the fact it has recently taken on a “significant number” of new staff and the challenges associated with onboarding new customers.

A spokesperson said: “At So Energy we have always taken pride in providing the best possible customer experience. That’s why we’ve consistently been at or near the top of the Citizens Advice supplier rankings since they started measuring service levels four years ago.

“This recent blip was caused by challenges associated with onboarding new customers at a time when we were also onboarding a significant number of new staff, which naturally takes a little longer when we’re not all in the office together.”

Topping the table was fellow disruptor brand Igloo Energy with a score of 4.4. Igloo’s average call centre waiting time during the quarter was 21 seconds, more than 20 seconds ahead of the Octopus-supplied M&S Energy which was in second place.

Small supplier Igloo registered just 4.1 complaints per 10,000 customers, however it was beaten on this by GoTo Energy which recorded just 4 per 10,000.

In 5^th place was Octopus Energy, making it the highest ranked large supplier. However two brands run by Octopus, M&S Energy and Co-Operative Energy, were ranked higher at 2^nd and 4^th place respectively.

The worst rated supplier was Orbit Energy which ranked 35th with a score of just 1.5. Orbit had almost 110 complaints per 10,000 customers and its average call waiting time was 15:06.

Of the former big six, EDF Energy was the highest ranked, and the only one of the legacy suppliers to have been ranked within the top 10, coming 8^th with a score of 4.

Eon was the worst ranked in this group, coming 29^th place with a score of 2.35.

Former big six rankings

Out of the these legacy suppliers EDF had 18.4 complaints per 10,000 customers while Scottish Power had the most out of any with 60.8.

Elsewhere, Scottish Power was the fastest to pick up the phone to customers, with its average call waiting time at 01:52. British Gas, which has more customers than any of its rivals, was the worst at 08:34.

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