Energy Secretary Amber Rudd announced yesterday that Citizens Advice and Ofgem will work together to help strengthen the role of the Energy Ombudsman.
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“Poor energy complaints handling adds insult to injury.
“When something goes wrong people want to know that the problem will be fixed quickly and any complaints handled properly. But the 100,000 energy issues we help with each year, and our complaints league table, shows people are wasting time and money trying to sort out problems and firms aren't learning lessons.
“Too often complaints are dealt with in isolation which means systematic failures across the energy industry are not properly addressed. The Government’s announcement that it will strengthen the role of the energy ombudsman with the help of Citizens Advice and Ofgem is encouraging news and will hopefully help to create a market that works better in the interests of customers.
"Citizens Advice is often the first port of call when people have an issue with their supplier as consumers trust us to guide them through their problems. This provides us with vital insight and data which we look forward to sharing in these discussions."
Citizens Advice last week published quarterly energy complaints data, which showed consumers have made nearly 20 times as many complaints about the worst company as they did about the best performing supplier.
The consumer champion also published a new comparison tool to help customers to choose their supplier. The website offers information on a range of services, including: opening hours, billing frequency and different ways consumers can contact firms.