- Outfox the Market received the highest overall rating for customer service from Citizens Advice
- Octopus Energy and Co-op Energy both received the highest score on Trustpilot
- Octopus Energy also received top marks from Which? together with their Recommended Provider badge
According to a 2023 review by Ofgem, overall customer satisfaction with energy suppliers was amongst the worst ever seen.
As the energy crisis continues with no sign of traditional tariff price competition returning anytime soon, customer service is now the main yardstick against which suppliers are compared.
To make that comparison process easier, I’ve compiled the latest ratings and reviews from three trusted sources:
This ensures you get the most comprehensive, accurate and reliable information to base any switching decision on.
Energy Supplier Customer Service Ratings
By default, the results table below is ranked by average overall rating.
To change how it is sorted, simply click the column title you want to prioritise.
¹Ratings not provided due to lack of data, so an average score of 58% has been given to ensure consistency.
Which Energy Supplier Has The Best Customer Service?
Citizens Advice rated Outfox the Market the highest for customer service overall, scoring them 3.65 out of 5 or 73%.
Although Which? gave Octopus Energy the highest assessment score of 82%, Shell Energy received the most marks in their customer service category with 15 out of 17 points.
Taking all ratings together as an average, the top scoring supplier is Octopus Energy with 81% who were also awarded the only Which? Recommended Provider badge.
It’s worth noting that Octopus has continued to take on customers from more than ten smaller providers who have left the market. This year, 1.5 million Bulb customers have been transferred, which might explain why Octopus have lost points from Citizens Advice under the ‘ease of contact’ category.
As an Octopus Energy customer myself, I’d say that the results are not a surprise.
They are certainly one of the most customer focused and innovative energy providers, particularly if you have an electric car or solar panels.
The only areas I’d suggest improvements are with their website, which could be more intuitive and the clarity of billing statements, which can sometimes be hard to make sense of.
Which Energy Supplier Does Which? Recommend?
For the sixth year in a row, Octopus Energy received a Which? Recommended Provider badge in 2023, the only one awarded this year.
It comfortably surpassed the minimum requirements for the award, which include a customer score of at least 70% together with having company practices that are in the best interest of it’s customers.
In fact, Octopus Energy achieved the highest marks in the assessment score, customer score and total score.
Who Has The Most Complaints?
Based on Ofgem data for the second quarter of 2023, the energy supplier that has the most complaints per 100,000 customers was EDF energy with 2547.
For smaller companies who are measured by complaints per 10,000 customer accounts, Good Energy received the most at 170 complaints.
Who Has The Least Complaints?
For medium and large suppliers, Bulb and Octopus had the least complaints, with Green Energy receiving the lowest number amongst the smaller firms. Bulb has since transferred all its customers to Octopus Energy and ceased trading.
How to Complain About Poor Service
Whether you’re having issues with meters, billing, or the switching process, there are well established procedures for getting your complaint resolved.
1. Contact Your Supplier
Contact your existing supplier and give them the opportunity to put it right.
To understand your complaint, they’ll need to know your account number, contact details and some background information about the issue, including your preferred resolution.
Remember to keep a record of all communication and correspondence, including dates, times, and the names of anyone you speak to. This can be useful if you need to escalate your complaint or seek legal advice.
2. Escalate to the Complaints Department
If the initial complaint is unresolved, it can be escalated to your supplier’s dedicated complaints team.
Sometimes called ‘customer happiness’ or ‘customer success’ teams, they typically have more experience and authority to find solutions to customer problems.
3. Make a Formal Complaint to the Energy Ombudsman
If your complaint is unresolved within 8 weeks, you can escalate it to the Energy Ombudsman.
They offer a free and independent mediation service that has the authority to force your supplier to provide a fair resolution if necessary.
You don’t have to accept their final decision, but your supplier does.
Extra Help With Filing a Complaint
If you’re unable to contact your energy supplier, or they haven’t resolved an issue, you can contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline for free advice on 0808 223 1133.
They also provide a free letter template to help with putting a complaint in writing.
How to Switch to a New Energy Supplier
If you’ve experienced poor service or just want a better tariff, it’s never been easier to switch to another energy supplier.
As long as you don’t pay a landlord for energy, you’re not on a fixed tariff with an exit fee and haven’t owed money to your current supplier for more than 28 days, you can switch at any time.
Here’s a simple outline of the process:
1. Check Your Latest Energy Bill
To get quotes from new suppliers and start the switching process, they’ll need to know about your property, your current provider and annual usage.
This will include:
- Full address
- The type of meter you have (smart, prepayment etc).
- Current energy company name.
- Your current tariff name.
- Annual energy consumption in kWh or what you pay.
You can find all this information on your latest energy bill.
2. Choose Your New Supplier and Tariff
If you’re looking for better customer service, check the ratings table above. It includes data from Citizens Advice, Trustpilot and Which showing the best and worst energy firms for customer service and satisfaction.
If pricing or a fixed tariff are a priority, you can compare energy suppliers using a price comparison website to check which meet your criteria.
You can also narrow down which tariffs could be best suited to your circumstances using the energy tariff selector tool.
Two points to bear in mind at this stage are:
- Make sure you use an Ofgem accredited comparison website.
- Look for companies that have signed up to the Energy Switch Guarantee, which ensures transfers are completed to a higher standard than required by the energy regulator.
3. Start the Switching Process
Once you’ve chosen your supplier and tariff, you can either start the process using a comparison website or by going direct to your new provider by phone or through their own website.
Your new provider will keep you updated on progress and confirm when the switch is complete, which can be as little as five days under the Energy Switch Guarantee.
