Scottish Power has been ranked Britain’s worst energy supplier for customer service in a survey from a leading consumer body that placed many of the UK’s biggest suppliers at the bottom of the league table.
British Gas and EDF Energy were just above Scottish Power at the foot of the annual Which? rankings. These are based on a satisfaction survey of almost 12,000 energy customers and a Which? assessment of each supplier’s customer service.
The consumer group found that Scottish Power had the lowest score for customer satisfaction and tied with EDF Energy for the second lowest score on the consumer champion’s assessment. The weakest performer was So Energy, which finished fourth from bottom overall.
Other large suppliers in the lower half of the league table included Ovo Energy, which finished fifth from bottom, and E.ON Next, which tied with Ecotricity and Fuse Energy as the sixth worst suppliers in the rankings.
“While four suppliers are outshining the competition, some big firms – including Scottish Power, EDF and British Gas – are letting their customers down,” said Emily Seymour, the Which? energy editor.
All three of the lowest scored suppliers have questioned the Which? rankings, which at times appear to contradict the customer service scores offered by the charity Citizens Advice and the industry regulator.
A spokesperson for Scottish Power said the Citizens Advice scorecard showed that the supplier had provided “sustained, high-quality delivery for our customers” and was based on “much more robust and transparent methodology” than the Which? survey.
“We will continue to work tirelessly every day to deliver fast, efficient and helpful support to our customers,” the spokesperson added.
British Gas said Ofgem’s latest customer satisfaction data showed that the supplier had achieved the second-highest overall satisfaction score among the main energy suppliers after complaints had fallen by more than 20% each year for the past two years.
“We know there is always more to do and are continually looking at ways to make further improvements for our customers,” British Gas said.
EDF Energy was approached for comment.
The consumer champion awarded four suppliers “Which? recommended provider” status: E (Gas and Electricity), a Birmingham-based firm with more than 300,000 customers which topped the table overall, plus Octopus Energy, 100Green and Sainsbury’s Energy.
Octopus Energy, the UK’s biggest energy supplier, finished second overall and was named as a Which? recommended supplier for the ninth consecutive year.
Greg Jackson, Octopus Energy’s founder and chief executive, said: “Octopus was first recommended by Which? nine years ago when we had just 50,000 customers. Despite growing 160 times bigger over the last nine years, we’re still Which? recommended, and have been every year. This isn’t about scale – it’s about consistently focusing on our customers to deliver value, service and innovation.”
