Utilita accuses Citizens Advice of misrepresenting complaints performance

Energy supplier Utilita has accused Citizens Advice of misrepresenting its customer complaints performance in the charity’s latest star ratings table.

The ratings for Q1 2022 were released on Friday (1 July) and showed the pre-payment meter (PPM) specialist coming last place with a score of just 1.6 out of 5.

Utilita had the second worst number of complaints per 10,000 customers at just over 79, while Ecotricity had the worst at 88.

Following the publication of the results, a spokesperson for Utilita said: “Yet again, the Citizens Advice Star Rating fails to reflect neither the unique nature of our business nor the service our customers receive.”

They said the supplier has concerns regarding the methodology the charity uses to calculate the scores.

The spokesperson continued: “We also have issues with their approach to recording complaints which classes ‘contacts’ made to them by our customers as ‘complaints’, regardless of whether we are at fault.

“If we then seek to follow up, Citizens Advice refuses to adjust the reporting to reflect the update because ‘priority’ customers cannot be disputed according to their methodology – even where the supplier has done nothing wrong, and we have had no contact with the customer. This further misrepresents our actual performance.

“We acknowledge that we can do better, but we strongly believe Citizens Advice employs a methodology that is unfairly weighted against us as a smart prepay specialist. It doesn’t take into account key services such as live chat, financial assistance and energy efficiency advice, all of which we excel at.”

Utilita said it recognised the charity is “committed to supporting its vulnerable clients” and said it looked forward to a “more representative picture” of its performance in the next ranking.

This is not the first time a supplier has raised concerns following publication of the star ratings table.

In 2019 the now defunct Pure Planet accused the charity of using “arcane and potentially flawed methods” to calculate the ratings after the app-based supplier was marked down for failing to offer customers a telephone number to call.

Citizens Advice declined to comment when approached by Utility Week but did point to its webpage which sets out the star rating methodology.

The ratings are based on data from a number of sources including complaints made to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service, the Extra Help Unit and the Energy Ombudsman. Data from suppliers is gathered on customer service, billing and switching.

There are a number of categories for which suppliers are given a score out of 5 before they are given an overall star rating out of 5. Not all categories are equal. Some, like complaints, count more towards the final score than others.

The charity then publishes data about suppliers with more than 25,000 customer accounts.

Responding to the latest ratings, which were the lowest ever for the sector, Energy UK’s director of advocacy, Dhara Vyas, said over the past few months, energy suppliers have experienced “unprecedented call volumes and record-breaking traffic” to their customer support services.

She added: “Energy suppliers have invested hundreds of millions of pounds to support people since the beginning of the pandemic, providing financial relief to those who need it most.

“More recently, they have increased these commitments by diversifying their communication channels to provide easier access to support, training up thousands of newly employed customer service specialists and partnering with third-party organisations and charities.

“Most suppliers, covering 80% of customers, have also signed up to Energy UK’s Vulnerability Commitment and pledged to improve the services they provide to those most in need – despite the ongoing challenges.

“The latest analysis from Citizens Advice clearly shows that more needs to be done and Energy UK is working with industry, the regulator and consumer groups to share best practice and ensure people get the help they need throughout the crisis.”