Taken from Manchester Evening News 20/04/2009
Martyn Hocking (Editor, Which? Money)
April 20, 2009
ENERGY bills may finally be coming down but, as the economy shrinks, we are all looking for better service at reasonable prices. And energy suppliers need to take note.Our brand new Which? customer satisfaction survey of energy suppliers reveals an average score of just 43 per cent, making this the lowest performing of all industries covered by our satisfaction surveys in the past 12 months. Only two energy suppliers do well in the survey, and the big suppliers such as Npower and British Gas appear to be failing our members across the board, particularly when it comes to value for money.
PRICES STILL HIGH
The current annual gas and electricity bill for the average household on a direct debit 'dual fuel' (gas and electricity from the same supplier) tariff now stands at £1,195 – more than double what it was in early 2004.And, although prices are now decreasing, since we carried out our last energy supplier satisfaction survey (visit www.which.co.uk/utilitycompanies2008), the average cost of gas has risen by almost 29 per cent and electricity by 14 per cent.However, the good news is that poor customer service and high bills can be beaten.
If you're not happy with your current supplier (and, according to our survey, unless you are with Utility Warehouse or Ebico, that's likely to be the case), it easy to switch suppliers. The same applies if you are looking for a cheaper tariff.And there are a range of cost-effective – or even free – ways to shelter your household from the impact of high energy charges. Becoming more energy efficient and cutting the amount you use in the first place isn't hard.
OUR SURVEY
As with our last survey, it's the smaller suppliers that rule in terms of customer satisfaction. Scores for the big six suppliers (everyone in our table except Utility Warehouse and Ebico) that dominate the market remain low, with none improving on last year's scores. Ups and downs Indeed, three suppliers – Scottish & Southern (SSE), ScottishPower and Eon – did worse. And despite saying that it had recruited extra staff and invested £200m in its customer service systems since our last survey, Npower remains rooted to the bottom, with British Gas – the country's biggest supplier – not too far behind.Yet the performance of Utility Warehouse, which actually improved on its top score last time round, suggests that where energy customer satisfaction is concerned, price isn't the only issue.
Newcomer Ebico, previously known as the Equitable Billing Company, also did well. Ebico is a not-for-profit energy supplier and has only one tariff, so – unlike other suppliers – there is no price difference if you pay quarterly, by monthly direct debit or with a prepayment meter.In its recent investigation into the energy market, the industry regulator Ofgem found that customers with prepayment meters paid around £120 a year more than a direct debit customer using the same amount of energy.Ebico says that its core aim is to 'put people before profits and provide affordable energy for every home'.Our survey proves that high-quality customer service and strong value for money can be just as important as low prices – something the 'big six' can learn from the 'top two'.
BEST SUPPLIER
For the second year running, Utility Warehouse is our top-rated supplier. It scored top marks in all areas where we were able to rate it. Alongside gas and electricity, Utility Warehouse also offers home and mobile phone and ISP services and sends customers a monthly statement covering all the services they take from it.Utility Warehouse's gas and electricity prices aren't the cheapest around – for direct debit dual fuel, Utility Warehouse is around £100 a year more expensive than the cheapest big six supplier in each region. However, its customers don't seem to mind and gave it full marks for value for money.
WORST SUPPLIER
“The worst company I have come across,” was the opinion of one Which? member. Another told felt that: “Npower is useless at sorting out problems.” And yet another member summed up the service that they received from our lowest-rated provider as 'obtuse and inefficient'. This is the second year in a row that Npower has taken the wooden spoon. Although its scores have improved slightly in some aspects of its service, and in spite of its additional investment since last year, it still does poorly in all areas and its overall score has dropped by two per cent since last year.Perhaps most damaging of all, is the fact that, in these tough economic times, Npower got the lowest rating for value for money – an aspect that is more important than ever now.
ONE-STOP SHOP UTILITY WAREHOUSE IS THE BUSINESS
GETTING everything from the same supplier certainly makes things simpler, and the monthly bills are a good way to keep tabs on energy use,” says Mike Smith, a Utility Warehouse gas, electricity, landline and broadband customer. “
But that's not the main reason I've stuck with
Utility Warehouse. What I like is its customer service – if you email or call, it is amazingly good.“ They are intelligent, knowledgeable people, who answer questions very well and put you at ease – certainly not the usual call centre experience.”
Mike said that he hasn't had to call Utility Warehouse with any gas or electricity problems in the five years he's been a customer, but explained that he did have some problems with his landline and felt that the company 'bent over backwards' to help him.
On price, Mike said: “It doesn't claim to be the cheapest, and I'm not sure I've saved that much money, but it's good to know that if I need to contact the company about anything then I'll be dealing with good people who know how to treat their customers.”
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