Energy companies’ customer service: Who is failing consumers?

• Customer service satisfaction in energy companies’ has improved in the last six months, reaching +58, a seven point increase. 
• Additionally, fewer energy customers are running into problems when they contact their energy provider. Just over a third (36%) of adults making contact with their energy provider reported experiencing at least one problem with the customer service, down from 42% six months prior.
• Scottish Power has improved significantly over the last six months, with their overall customers’ satisfaction rising eighteen points from six months prior. We also saw similar levels of improvements across all our other satisfaction metrics for Scottish Power, meaning they now perform around the sector average.
• The same cannot be said for British Gas. Across all our metrics of satisfaction British Gas has worsened over the past six months, with a fall of four points in overall customer service satisfaction (+39). This clearly makes British Gas the worst energy provider for customer service.

Effective customer service is crucial for both businesses and consumers. Consumers must be able to efficiently and effectively contact a business with any issue they may be experiencing without facing any unnecessary barriers or experiencing any harm as a result. Businesses should also care about delivering good customer service as it can foster trust in the brand and make customers more likely to use their services in the future. 

Over the last couple of years Which? has been highlighting problems in customer service and calling out the worst companies to urgently improve and make it easier for customers to get timely and effective solutions. Our research in May 2024 found that the energy sector was the second worst sector for overall customer service and that Scottish Power and British Gas were the poorest-performing energy providers. Six months on, we repeated this research to see if energy providers had improved their customer service or not. 

Energy companies customer service has improved in the last six months

In our most recent research into customer service, an online survey of 5,246 UK adults, we found that a third (32%) of adults have contacted their energy provider in the last 12 months with an issue or query (November 2023 to November 2024). 72% of these UK adults were satisfied with their overall customer service experience, while 15% were dissatisfied. This gives the sector a net satisfaction score of +58, a seven point improvement compared to six months prior (+51) and moves them up two ranks when compared to eight other sectors. 

Ofgem’s data also shows that, over a similar timeframe, customer satisfaction has also increased. These improvements are encouraging as they indicate that energy providers are trying to serve their customers better.

Consumer satisfaction with overall customer service by sector

Not only has customer satisfaction improved, fewer energy customers are running into problems when they contact their energy provider. 36% of adults who contacted their energy provider reported experiencing at least one problem with the customer service. This has fallen from 42% in our May 2024 survey and shows energy companies are heading in the right direction. 

Despite improvement, it is concerning that more than a third of customers are experiencing problems. The most common problems experienced by consumers making contact were related to the time involved and quality of response. 14% reported waiting a long time on the phone before speaking to an advisor and 10% were passed between departments without receiving a helpful response.

Consumers experiencing at least one problem with customer service by sector

Customers continue to be most dissatisfied with the time taken to reach an advisor that can help

Which?'s previous research and campaigning on customer service over the last year has highlighted that one of consumers’ biggest issues with customer service is often being unable to get a timely response. This continues to be the case for the energy sector, as shown by the most common problems consumers experience and the fact that net satisfaction is lowest for how long it takes to get in touch with a person that can help. The sector score of +48 for this reflects two third (67%) of those making contact being satisfied and one in five (20%) dissatisfied. 

Net satisfaction is also low for how long it took to get an answer to your issue /query (+52), although this has improved by six points in the last six months.

Consumer satisfaction with aspects of energy provider’s customer service

Whilst Scottish Power improves, British Gas is heading in the wrong direction

Our May 2024 Customer Service survey found that Scottish Power and British Gas customers were most dissatisfied with the customer service they were receiving. On the positive side, Scottish Power has improved significantly over the last six months, with their customers’ satisfaction rising and number of problems reported falling. In terms of overall customer satisfaction, 71% of Scottish Power customers making contact were satisfied and 14% were dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of +56. This is an eighteen point improvement from six months prior. We also saw similar levels of improvements across all our other satisfaction metrics for Scottish Power, meaning they now perform around the sector average. The proportion of customers reporting problems fell from 55% in May 2024 to 46% in November 2024.

The same cannot be said for British Gas. Across all our satisfaction metrics British Gas has worsened over the past six months, with a fall of four points in overall customer service satisfaction (+39). This makes British Gas the worst energy provider for customer service. British Gas customers were most dissatisfied with how long it took to get in touch with a person that could help, scoring a very low +24 (55% satisfied, 31% dissatisfied).

Consumer satisfaction with overall customer service by providers

Additionally, half (51%) of British Gas customers making contact reported experiencing at least one problem. One in four (24%) of those making contact said they waited a long time on the phone before speaking to an advisor. Once customers did get though, a small proportion had negative experiences talking to the advisor; 15% reported speaking to unhelpful or dismissive advisors and 14% said they weren’t given good advice or support. These sentiments are extremely concerning, as they show that British Gas customers are facing issues both at the start of their customer service journey and are often left without a satisfactory resolution.

Through our story-capture tool we recently heard from one British Gas customer who was hurt by the poor service they received… 

“After waiting an eternity and deciding to start my ironing whilst I was waiting, eventually someone answered the phone who sounded totally disinterested and very hard to understand. She didn’t have a clue what I was talking about and said she would transfer me elsewhere.”

Summary

These latest findings show a mixed picture for the energy sector. Overall the sector is improving in its customer service delivery, with the large improvements by Scottish Power demonstrating that it is possible to improve customer satisfaction in a short period of time. The sector should continue to strive to make improvements and ensure that customers aren’t running into avoidable issues in their customer service journey.

Worryingly, British Gas are trending in the wrong direction with their customer service. Their customers are clearly the most dissatisfied in the sector and are running into many problems. British Gas must focus on improving their customer service delivery and ensuring that calls and emails are answered promptly and that customers are being provided with helpful advice and support. 

Methodology

Yonder, on behalf of Which?, conducted an online survey of 4,184 nationally representative adults aged 18+ between 6th and 10th November 2024. Respondents were asked if they had contacted companies in the following sectors in the last 12 months; their energy provider, their broadband provider, an airline, a booking site, a financial service, a home improvement company, a delivery company or a retailer. Across the nationally representative survey of 4,184 UK adults and our boost sample, we captured 1,365 respondents who had contacted their energy provider in the last year.

Customer service satisfaction metrics

We asked respondents who contacted their energy provider in the last year to rate how satisfied or dissatisfied they were with their experience when contacting their customer service. They rated the following nine statements against a 5-point satisfaction scale where “1” was very dissatisfied and “5” was very satisfied. 

1. How easy it was to find contact information
2. The variety of contact options provided
3. How long it took to get in touch with a person that could help
4. How seriously the customer service representative took your issue/ query
5. How well the customer service representative kept you informed about the progress of your issue /query
6. How long it took to get an answer to your issue /query
7. How well your issue/ query was dealt with
8. How well my issue/query was resolved
9. Overall customer service

We also ask people to tell us what problems they encountered when they contacted their provider. The list of problems they selected from was developed by analysing thousands of stories of poor customer service submitted to the Which?’s case study tool, as part of our Customer Service Counts campaign.

The customer story comes from our customer service story-capture tool. This was launched in December 2023 to give consumers a platform to share their struggles with poor customer service. Over the past year, the tool has collected approximately 4,600 consumer stories.