Extra Energy records worst ever score in complaints league table

Extra Energy has delivered the worst performance for its handling of customer complaints, according to Citizens Advice’s latest energy supplier league table which measures how effectively customer complaints are dealt with by energy companies.

The company came bottom of the consumer champion’s league table for January to March 2016.  There were 1,682 complaints per 100,000 Extra Energy customers - the highest complaints ratio ever recorded over the course of the league table’s five year history.

SSE, Flow Energy and EDF Energy took the top three positions for dealing with complaints in Citizens Advice’s table.  Flow Energy is the first small supplier to reach second place since 2015 when smaller suppliers were added to the league table.

Citizens Advice’s complaints league table of the 20 largest energy firms in Great Britain, for January to March 2016 shows:

• Lowest performer Extra Energy had 60 times as many complaints as best performer SSE
• Flow Energy takes second place with complaint ratio of 32.6 per 100,000 customers.
• Npower drops further down the rankings, now only Big Six supplier in bottom four.
• Newcomer iSupply in bottom 4 with 607.1 complaints per 100,000 customers.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said:

“Energy consumers continue to face a gamble when it comes to good customer service.  

“The latest league table results show both small and large suppliers delivering a good service, proving that a company’s size is no excuse for poor performance.

“It should be every consumer’s right to receive a high quality service from their supplier and standards must be improved across the board.”

Citizens Advice energy complaints league table for January to March 2016.

A video outlining the complaints process and the roles Citizens Advice, Ofgem and Ombudsman Services: Energy play in supporting consumers is available here. 

Notes to editors

1. Citizens Advice publishes a quarterly league table on how the 20 largest energy firms in Great Britain handle complaints. It covers all domestic energy suppliers with more than 50,000 customers. The data is based on the number of consumers that have contacted an independent organisation for advice or support with an energy problem. Complaints made to the Citizens Advice consumer service, the Extra Help Unit and Ombudsman Services: Energy are weighted differently to reflect the severity of the complaint. Weightings have been allocated to reflect the seriousness of the complaint and the time and effort spent by the consumer to get their problem resolved. The weightings in the model place greater emphasis on situations where the consumer has had to repeatedly contact their supplier, or another agency, because the company has failed to deal with their problem. The measures used in the model are outlined in the methodology. 
2. Ofgem publishes information on its website about the complaints that the 14 largest domestic energy suppliers record every quarter. The data includes the number of complaints (total numbers, and by every 100,000 customers for each supplier), as well as information about how quickly these complaints are dealt with.
3. Ombudsman Services: Energy publishes information on the complaints they have received about the 10 largest energy suppliers. This list can include smaller suppliers if there has been a spike in complaints. These are complaints that the supplier has been unable to resolve to the customer’s satisfaction after eight weeks, or sooner where the complaint has reached a ‘deadlock’ situation. The Ombudsman publishes data about the number of complaints it has received and resolved, the type of complaint, and the awards made.
4. To get energy advice online visit the Citizens Advice  website or contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers. The service offers free, impartial advice about your rights, and the complaints process, and it can also refer energy consumers to bodies that are better able to assist if that’s needed.
5. The Citizens Advice service comprises a network of local Citizens Advice, all of which are independent charities, the Citizens Advice consumer service and national charity Citizens Advice. Together we help people resolve their money, legal and other problems by providing information and advice and by influencing policymakers. For more see the Citizens Advice website.
6. The advice provided by the Citizens Advice service is free, independent, confidential and impartial, and available to everyone regardless of race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or nationality.
7. To get advice online or find your local Citizens Advice in England and Wales, visit citizensadvice.org.uk
8. You can get consumer advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 or 03454 04 05 05 for Welsh language speakers.
9. Local Citizens Advice in England and Wales advised 2.5 million clients on 6.2 million problems in 2014/15. For full service statistics see our publication Advice trends.
10. Citizens Advice service staff are supported by more than 21,000 trained volunteers, working at over 2,500 service outlets across England and Wales.