Worst energy suppliers five times more likely to inaccurately bill

*The full table is at the bottom of this article

Suppliers in the bottom five of the Citizens Advice star ratings table are five times more likely on average to issue an inaccurate bill than the top five, the charity has revealed.

The quarterly rating ranks 34 domestic suppliers based on customer service, with the latest figures showing the scores for Q1 2021.

Suppliers ranked in the bottom five include:

• Utilita
• Ecotricity
• Symbio
• People’s Energy Company
• Orbit Energy

Citizens Advice said suppliers at the bottom failed to provide an accurate bill for 15 per cent of their customers, compared to less than 3 per cent for those in the top five.

Inaccurate bills make up more than 40 per cent of the problems energy customers contacted the Citizens Advice consumer helpline for support with during the last year.

The charity said the ratings table reveals a wide gap in the quality of customer service offered by suppliers in the top five compared to suppliers in the bottom five.

For example, the worst suppliers only respond to 35 per cent of their customers’ emails within two working days on average, compared to 86 per cent for the best suppliers. Having said this, 30th ranked Utilita responded to more than 70 per cent of emails, compared to 5th ranked Octopus Energy which responded to 54 per cent.

Additionally people with the worst rated suppliers wait on the phone for more than six minutes on average – 3.5 times longer than those with suppliers in the top five.

Responding to the results a spokesperson for People’s Energy Company said the rating “falls well short” of where it wants to be and where it is now as a business.

They added: “After facing significant operational challenges at the start of 2021, we’ve overhauled our customer services team, with the result that our wait times across all channels have significantly fallen.

“The People’s Energy Company was formed on the premise that the energy industry needs changing. We’ve encountered our fair share of challenges along the way but have never wavered from our commitment to provide energy fairly for all and continually improving the service we offer to our valued members.”

A Utilita spokesperson said: “Utilita prides itself on going above and beyond for its customers, something that the Citizens Advice star rating again fails to take into account.

“In 2020 alone, we helped 567,000 times to provide financial assistance, while our dedicated Extra Care Team made thousands of calls to check-in on vulnerable customers during lockdown. Many more have benefited from substantial reductions in their energy usage as a result of our best-in-class Energy Intelligence features.

“It is always our aim to maximise customer satisfaction, so we will always take on board criticism of any legitimate service shortfalls.”

Topping the list once again was Igloo Energy, followed by Outfox the Market which has also scored consistently well in the past few quarters.

Octopus Energy was ranked 5^th making it the top ranked out of the large suppliers, followed by EDF in 6^th place.

Eon meanwhile, ranked 28^th, was the worst performing of the large players.

Responding to the results Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Providing an accurate energy bill is the most basic aspect of customer service that a supplier can offer and yet many are failing to do this.

“All companies have a responsibility to deliver the best possible service to their customers and it’s disappointing to see such a wide chasm between those who are taking this seriously and those who are not.

“When customers with billing errors are unable to contact their supplier for help, it can cause immense stress. These problems are even worse for those who are already worried about money. It’s vital that suppliers fix these issues and provide support for those most at risk of debt.”