Economy Energy has come bottom of Citizens Advice’s energy star rating system. The company scored just 1.2 stars out of a possible 5 for its customer service for the period from October to December 2017.
Other companies near the bottom of the table include Iresa, who last year Citizens Advice referred to the regulator Ofgem for its poor customer service, and Avro Energy.
So Energy came top of the table, with a score of 4.7 stars, followed by Bulb Energy and Octopus Energy.
The charity believes that the performance of a number of new and smaller suppliers at the bottom of the table is further evidence of the need for Ofgem to tighten its licensing rules. Citizens Advice has said that it is currently too easy for firms to set themselves up as a new energy supplier and that some firms are serving customers before they have the systems and processes in place to deliver good quality customer service.
Citizens Advice developed the star rating system to help people find the right energy supplier for their needs. Suppliers are awarded a score out of 5 stars based on a combination of 5 factors, including how complaints are dealt with, and how long consumers wait to get through to call centres. The ratings appear as part of Citizens Advice energy price comparison tool, to enable people to take customer service into account when choosing their energy supplier.
The latest ratings have been expanded to provide information about more suppliers than ever before. The rating tool now ranks 28 energy suppliers in terms of customer service, and covers 99% of the energy market by customer numbers.
Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said:
“The performance of some smaller energy suppliers raises serious questions for the companies themselves, and shows why Ofgem needs to get tougher on licensing.
“The performance of those at the top of the table shows that small suppliers can deliver great customer service. Those at the bottom of our table need to improve their offer to consumers. All customers deserve accurate bills, a supplier that’s easy to contact and that will resolve problems quickly and effectively when things do go wrong.
“Ofgem also has an important duty in protecting customers from companies which don’t provide appropriate levels of customer service. The regulator must now take action and tighten the rules for new companies becoming suppliers. Ultimately it’s customers who suffer when firms aren’t up to scratch”.
Supplier
|
Star rating October to December 2017
|
|
So Energy
|
4.7
|
|
Bulb Energy
|
4.4
|
|
Octopus Energy
|
4.15
|
|
British Gas
|
4.05
|
|
E (Gas and Electricity)
|
4
|
|
SSE
|
3.95
|
|
Bristol Energy
|
3.8
|
|
Utility Warehouse
|
3.75
|
|
Ovo Energy
|
3.7
|
|
EDF Energy
|
3.7
|
|
npower
|
3.6
|
|
ScottishPower
|
3.45
|
|
E.ON
|
3.3
|
|
First Utility
|
3.3
|
|
Flow Energy
|
3.2
|
|
Co-operative Energy
|
2.85
|
|
PFP Energy
|
2.85
|
|
Ecotricity
|
2.55
|
|
Good Energy
|
2.25
|
|
iSupply
|
2.25
|
|
Green Star Energy
|
2.2
|
|
Utilita
|
2.2
|
|
Robin Hood Energy
|
2.05
|
|
Extra Energy
|
1.9
|
|
Spark Energy
|
1.9
|
|
Avro Energy
|
1.4
|
|
Iresa
|
1.3
|
|
Economy Energy
|
1.2
|
|