'Concerns' over energy complaints

One in four customers who complained to energy firms was unhappy with how their grievances were dealt with, Ofgem has said

Energy firms have been urged to improve their complaint handling procedures after a survey showed one in four customers was unhappy with how their grievances were dealt with.

Research commissioned by regulator Ofgem (Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets) found consumer gripes included the number of times they had to contact the supplier, the attitude of staff and a failure to return calls.

Ofgem said there were "low levels" of satisfaction across all suppliers.

The most common grievances were billing and prices - but the regulator added some performed better than others.

Scottish and Southern Energy and E.ON rated joint highest with 29% of customers satisfied, while npower was lowest with 16%.

Scottish Power recorded 24%, while Centrica and EDF each polled 20% in the survey of 2,700 customers.

In a letter sent to bosses of each of the major energy companies, Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan said: "It is in suppliers' best interests to ensure that the service they provide is of a high standard.

"This is clearly an opportunity for them to raise the bar to retain existing customers and attract new ones.

"With the systems and processes in place, the challenge now for companies was to really listen to what their customers were saying and look at how they could address their concerns."

Ofgem said it was investigating "concerns" that EDF Energy had failed to comply with regulations requiring suppliers to "properly record" complaints.