Citizens Advice reveals the WORST energy companies for customer service: Is your supplier on the list?

EDF has been named the worst energy company for customer service by consumer charity Citizens Advice.

Utilita was the second worst company for customer problems, followed by British Gas in third place.

But no energy company fared well in Citizens Advice’s rankings, with only one scoring higher than 3.3 stars out of 5.

Citizens Advice rated customer service between January and March this year, when record numbers of people turned to the charity for help with energy problems.

Average ratings have fallen 10.5 percent compared to the same period in 2021 and have remained stable since the end of 2023.

Citizens Advice says customer service standards have not yet returned to levels seen before the energy crisis.

Higher prices meant that many more people needed support from their suppliers with problems such as debt and the forced installation of prepaid meters.

The latest star rating puts EDF and Utilita at the bottom of the table, with Ecotricity at the top.

EDF earned a score of 3.45 stars at the end of 2023, making it the third best energy company in customer service at that time.

Citizens Advice said EDF fell to the bottom of the rankings as its average call wait times rose from just under a minute to more than five minutes in less than a year.

An EDF spokesperson said: ‘We recognize that our call response times have not been up to the high standards we set for ourselves and we are committed to doing better, returning to the market-leading service our customers expect.

“We have recruited and trained more people across our Sunderland, Brighton and Exeter offices and are nearing the end of a complex move of our residential customers to a new IT system, which will result in more customers getting in touch as as we navigate this process.”

Citizens Advice added that customer call wait times were improving across energy companies, but their shared problems resolving complaints were dragging their ratings down.

Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “When millions of people are struggling to get their hands on essentials, it is completely unacceptable that energy companies are failing to provide their customers with adequate support.”

‘Citizens Advice has long called for Ofgem to be given greater powers to hold suppliers to account for customer service. This must include addressing the backlog of claims before next winter.’

A Utilita spokesperson said: ‘We should not underestimate how smart consumers are today. You will notice that the star rating contradicts other supplier reviews across the market, including those from Ofgem, Trustpilot and Which? – where Utilita performs consistently well.

‘The latest star rating is also an anomaly when comparing its results to those of the Energy Consumer Satisfaction Survey. The in-depth report, jointly commissioned by Citizens Advice and the regulator, ranked Utilita second in customer service among medium and large providers.

“As such, we look forward to continued dialogue to close the gap between the perception provided by the Citizens Advice star rating and the reality provided by other ratings.”

A British Gas spokesperson said: “We have been investing heavily in our customers’ operations; this includes hiring 700 more staff for the UK-based contact center at the end of last year, introducing new opening hours ‘longer call center hours and providing additional training to our dedicated colleagues on supporting customers in financial difficulty.’