How to complain about your vitality supplier
- Energy firms are grappling with poor reputations for customer service levels
- Citizens Advice and Ofgem both say energy firms need drastic improvement
- Here is how to complain about your energy firm
Energy firms have been slammed by charity Citizens Advice for poor customer service, with public satisfaction with gas and electricity still far below normal levels.
Citizens Advice’s latest star rating puts EDF, Utilita and British Gas at the bottom of the table for energy firm customer service, with Ecotricity doing the best overall.
The charity said that energy firms were failing to resolve complaints from customers, which was dragging their overall scores down.
Energy providers have already been told to improve their customer service by regulator Ofgem.
Balance of power: Energy regulator Ofgem oversees gas and electricity company complaints
In October 2023 Ofgem singled out long waiting times, ignored letters, a lack of empathy and ignoring the vulnerability of some customers as areas energy firms needed to address.
So how do you complain about your energy firm, and what can you do if you are unhappy with how that complaint is handled?
How to complain about an energy firm
The first step is to complain directly to your energy firm. Each energy company will tell you their complaints procedure on their website, as well as on energy bills.
Sometimes it is tricky to know whether to complain about your energy firm or your network operator – the organisation that maintains physical wires and pipes that supply electricity and gas.
If you are ever unsure, energy regulator Ofgem has an online tool to help you.
After you make your complaint, someone from the firm should get in touch to discuss your problem, and explain how they will resolve it and when.
Regardless of what firm you complain to, Ofgem requires that customers have any issues resolved within eight weeks.
How to escalate your energy complaint
If you cannot get anywhere with your energy company, you can take complaints to the Energy Ombudsman.
This is a free service which handles customer energy grievances around customer service, billing, switching suppliers and more.
The easiest way to take a grievance to the Ombudsman is through its online complaints platform.
However, you can also call 0330 440 1624, send full details of the problem to [email protected] or write to: The Energy Ombudsman, P.O. Box 966, Warrington, WA4 9DF.
Before you can raise a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman, you must first speak to your supplier and put in a formal complaint.
You can only turn to the Energy Ombudsman if:
1) You are unhappy with how your energy firm or network operator handled your complaint
2) Your problem is not fixed within eight weeks
3) You are told your problem cannot be fixed at all
It can take months to get a decision. You then have to either accept the decision (in which case your energy firm has 28 days to do what the Ombudsman has asked it to), or decline it.
If you decline, your only remaining option is to take your energy firm to court. It is recommended that you research the costs of legal action before doing this, as these can outweigh any money you may be owed.
It is also possible to appeal if you think the Ombudsman has been unfair.
SAVE MONEY, MAKE MONEY
Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.
