Customer service standards at energy companies hit record lows

Call centre waiting times have ballooned as energy suppliers have struggled to deal with the number of struggling customers.

Energy firms’ customer service standards have hit a record low as consumers have been left hanging on the phone. Charity Citizens Advice said call wait times had surged 75pc in a year, with the average time wait soaring to six and a half minutes. Many customers have waited significantly longer to lodge complaints and ask for help with sky-high bills.

In the same period last year, callers waited just under four minutes on average.

In the first three months of this year, the number of calls to Citizens Advice with energy company complaints soared 63pc year-on-year. Between January and March 2022, the charity saw 70,000 new cases related to energy companies.

One customer said his direct debit had nearly quadrupled from £50 to £180 a month. 

Graham Edwards, whose name has been changed, cannot work due to health conditions, rarely cooks or uses the lights in his home unless he “absolutely needs to”. He has been pushed to use food banks after huge energy bills have left him with no spare money.

He said: “I’ve asked my supplier to take the payment on a certain day to make sure there’s money in my account, but they take it whenever they want.

“When I try calling them it's so hard to get through to someone. And if I do, they basically say there's nothing they can do.”

He added: “I try to use as little gas and electricity as possible. I rarely cook, I don't use the lights unless I absolutely need to. Because of my health, there can be a week or longer that I go without using any energy as I can't get out of bed.”

Citizens Advice said customer service standards had “plummeted” since June 2021 when major issues started to emerge in the energy market. Suppliers have become slower to respond to emails, it added, replying to 62pc of emails within two working days versus 66pc last year.

The charity said without swift action to improve customer service, standards would only deteriorate further as the energy price cap increases again in October.

Dame Clare Moriarty, of Citizens Advice, said energy companies “must do better” to improve support services for people struggling the most.

She said: “Ofgem should make sure suppliers are following the rules, and take action where needed.”