A shocking number of complaints to the Big Six

wavechange,

You have just made me think differently & what you say is correct. As some of us, like me, are moving to Twitter and not making things “formal” via the phone ARE these classed as complaints and are they in the data?

I would guess and say no, but I might be wrong.

What might drive me to use Twitter is many companies’ insistence on using web forms instead of email and doing their best to hide their contact phone numbers.

I am guessing that a ‘complaint’ would have to be related to a specific account and I don’t know how practical that would be within the limited number of characters imposed by Twitter.

Thanks very much for your prompt reply Kate. It is not often I have sympathy for energy companies these days but I do over this issue. It would be a great help to include a brief explanation of what is meant by a complaint in future Conversations and in the magazine since it helps put things in perspective.

Statistics are useful for analysing factual information such as the average energy consumption at different times of day or how it varies throughout the year. But ask people to provide their views or even remember facts and statistics soon become of questionable value. How a question is phrased, the context, what the previous question was and many other factors collectively debase the validity of a survey. That is ignoring any deliberate attempt to influence the information provided. Advertising and questionable statistics provide convenient and familiar examples when teaching the need for critical evaluation.

In the context of this Conversation it would be possible to analyse the nature of complaints and do a valid statistical analysis. That would be useful but probably extremely time consuming. It would ignore the fact that there are people who are dissatisfied but do not comment or complain, for whatever reason.

I hate attention-grabbing presentation too but assume that is used to attract broader input into what can often be useful debate. I presume that all the pathetic puns in Conversation titles is just house style and can cope with that. 🙂

Wavechange, I am aware of the use and misuse, and selective use, of statistics. It bothers me that two organisations, one whose official job it is to collect reliable data, differ by a factor of 2:1. My instinct is that the 1 in 5 who only trust the energy companies feels extreme and may be chosen to suit the argument. I would feel it was just as big an issue even if “only” 2 in 5 have trust. We must be careful to use data responsibly. I do not believe Which? would deliberately used incorrect data, so it would be useful if they explained how they derived it and how they differ from Ofgem.
This does not detract from the urgent need for energy companies to deal with their customers in a timely and efficient way.
Incidentally, if you want timely and efficiient you might consider many local authorities and government departments who pledge to reply to your e-mail “within 20 to 28 (working) days”.

I know you are well aware of such issues, Malcolm. It was just a general comment because I doubt that the problem is generally appreciated. I agree that we should explore discrepancies and I’m sure that Conversation introductions are written in a way that encourages readers to to explore the topic, find information and make an input.

I agree that we must use data responsibly, but wonder if either of the organisations involved have even presented us with valid data.

Comparing response time with that of other organisations is a worthwhile exercise and something that might lend itself to valid statistical analysis.

I’m not sure where Which? get their numbers and statistics from. They have 254 000 on-line members, so a very large base from which they could extract data. I don’t remember being asked a question about trust – maybe I’ve missed it, but I do fairly regularly get surveys from Which? to complete. Do they tap into all of these potential respondents?

correction, Which say only 20% trust energy companies. Ofgem say 57% (assumed because 43% don’t). So the difference is nearly 3:1. There must be a difference in the question asked?

Thanks for the explanation Patrick – it does seem to be how the numbers are interpreted. When you show only 1 in 5 trust energy companies, there is an implication that 4 in 5 don’t. This is not what the fuller information shows. In fact, around half don’t. I don’t think the question “act in your best interests” is appropriate – a public company with shareholders will act in the interests of its shareholders, almost by definition. Clearly its success will also depend upon retaining customers, but they are not going to put them first (even though they should be a very close second). Ofgem’s question seems more relevant and realistic.
Regarding puns in headlines, it does seem to be the current fashion to use them to get attention, but I do confess to an inherent resistance to them.

I believe that energy companies don’t command much trust is because consumers know that generating dividends for shareholders and expanding their market share are high priorities. Energy is vital to all of us and I cannot understand why all aspects of the industry are not under strict government control to make it more responsible to consumers. I am certainly not opposed to energy supply being run by business and having competition is beneficial.

If you don’t trust an organisation, I think you are more likely to complain.

wavechange, “Energy is vital to all of us “. So is food, housing, and, for many, commuting costs. These are likely to each cost us a lot more than energy. So what are we planning to do about controlling the companies that provide these?

With food there does seem to be more choice of supplier, though the growth of supermarkets has put a lot of smaller shops out of business. There probably is need for more regulation and many of our contributors would like to put an end to the games supermarkets play over multi-buys. As far as I know there is a fair amount of competition in the housing sector. It’s not something I know a lot about but if there is unfair practice then that deserves attention. Perhaps the government could provide incentives for businesses etc to move away from those places where there is a shortage of affordable housing and that would at least help some avoid commuting.

If you can suggest any practical measures that will help the population cope better with rising prices then you are likely to have my support. I have not noticed too many other contributors defending the energy industry as much as you seem to. It is something we will have to agree to differ on.

wavechange, I am not a defender of the energy companies, but do like to keep issues in perspective and fairly presented; otherwise we can promote a distorted view of the situation, as I think the trust figure does here, the way it is presented.
The point I was making about other major expenditures was they account for much more of our budget than energy. Housing is not competitive – look at rents, house prices in the south east, for example; they are all market driven – supply and demand. Very little social housing – I cannot understand the selling off of council houses for example. I have previously suggested promoting the relocation of businesses, goverment departments and public bodies outside the south-east both to help the housing shortage, and to reduce commuting.
I think with food the trade off is price vs. quality rather than overall competition. Petrol and diesel prices do not vary much in a given area.

I’m sorry if my comment was unfair, Malcolm.

I very much agree about sale of council houses unless they are replaced. Apart from relocation of businesses etc. I do not know of any practical measures for making housing costs more equitable other than by penalising those who have chosen to live in cheaper areas.

Anyway, this Conversation is about complaints to energy suppliers and I fully support the need to have reliable and fair data.

m ner, If you have not already lodged a formal complaint with N power do so now. N Power then has eight weeks to respond. If they don’t put matters right, complain to Ombudsman Services Energy and they will take up your case. Their telephone number is 0330 440 1624.If you have already complained to N power and it was eight weeks or more since you did so contact the ombudsman now. We have recently had to involve the ombudsman do to the appalling behaviour of the energy company, First Utility. Hope this helps.

Susie, You definitely need to keep your 2inch thick folder. We are keeping ours regarding First Utility which is also 2 inches thick. First Utility have been instructed by the ombudsman to send us £130 as a goodwill gesture . They also need to send a written apology and send us a final bill on the correct tariff at our current address. Apparently First Utility are having difficulty in working this out . I find this unbelievable and so did the ombudsman.( We changed supplier in April). The deadline for First Utility to comply with the ombudsman’s remedy was yesterday, . Having informed Ombudsman’s Services that First Utility have failed to comply, they are referring the matter to their ” Remedy Implementation Team”. Watch this space!.( It took First Utility 7 months to reimburse us £256 in respect of our previous address).

See my post below on my problems with Scottish Power!

langworthy: using algorithms to calculate monthly payments which are designed to accrue large balances in their account seems an industry-wide practice. EoN have just developed a new twist to this, based on the premise that ‘more energy will be used than previously’. Even though we’re in credit, and reducing energy use, the pensioners writing are facing a monthly Direct Debit increase from £116 to £287. They have a new tool in their armoury: a web tool which lets you set your own Direct Debit. Unfortunately, it only let me drop down to £194 a month. I’ve complained, but haven’t got hold of anyone in authority yet. Looks like I’ll be going down the same complaints route, plus Age UK may be interested.

Forgive me if I’m wrong. But I can’t see where anyone has said that people should be penalised by not having their issues/complaints resolved quickly?

Twitter is a help as less people will be phoning up so people who do not use twitter should be able to speak to someone quicker too?

It seems to me that any method of communication that gets a response is there to be used. Once upon a time the only way was to write a letter. We’ve moved on. What is needed is an acknowledgement by these organisations that all methods of communication need to be dealt with promptly – letter, phone or electronic.
If you think communication with private companies is bad, try contacting your local authority, government department or other public body. A standard response to an e-mail is, often, that they will aim to reply within 20 (working) days. They need to move into the real world as “public servants”.

I too have been having problems with Scottish Power – dual fuel. I switched to Ovo in May 2014 and cancelled my direct debit to Scottish Power because my account was well in credit, I knew I would owe them a few pounds to settle the account but I didn’t want them taking another months worth in case I couldn’t get it back. And in any case, my online acocunt showed my next DD amount as £0.
My online gas bill appeared on 20 May – no problem and showing a healthy credit ready for the electricity bill
On 3 June I was even sent a refund of £24, suggesting I was in credit overall.
But no sign of an electricity bill.
In June I got a letter from them telling me that I’d cancelled my DD.
I replied, saying that I would check my account online regularly and pay any outstanding amount when the bill appeared.
On 25 June, I got a letter saying that I owed them £31 – the outstaning amount on my electricity bill. But no sign of a bill for me to check.
I paid it on 27 June, knowing it was probably about right, but still not having seen the bill.
I just didn’t want to risk a black mark on any credit score.
And since then, I have been trying to get sight of my final bill.
I have tried online requests several times and been promised it online and though the post.
I haven’t wasted time phoning as they take so long to answer and I’d get the same response anyway.
In response to a message on 21 July, I was promised a bill in 3-5 days. No bill.
In response to a reminder on 10 August, I was promised a bill by post in 3-5 days.
It’s now the 10th (working day) and still no sign of my final electricity bill, either online or by post.
Usleless.

Success at long last, but not without yet another demonstration of incompetence…..
I emailed yet another reminder on 30 August (18 days / 11 working days) and I got a fairly quick reply on 3 September. With yet another copy of my final gas bill and no mention at all of electricity. I replied almost immediately stressing that it was the electricity bill I was missing. And after refering to the complaints procedure on the Scottish Power website I also asked for a “unique complaints reference number” so I could escalate the complaint to the Customer Service Director. It clearly did the trick and I now have my final electricity bill. Success indeed, but it begs one more question. On 25 June I got the letter saying I owed them £31 as a final amount. At the time, I thought it may have been the bottom line from my final bill. But now that I have got it, my final bill is dated 13 August. I will leave that question unanswered, I think. I’m glad to see the back of Scottish Power and I don’t think I’d return, even if they did manage to come up with a good deal.

I have been told by EoN that my complaint about a 174% increase in my Direct Debit has been upheld (pending internal checking), no reason, no apology given (see my post 5 August – you’ll find it lodged with others of 21 June date for some reason). As an addendum, this is an ‘Age UK’ fixed contract. Fixed not only for a set period, but their welcome pack states the Direct Debits are fixed also. It had better be true!

Not sure if this will help, but you could try the Parliamentary Ombudsman Service re poor service from the energy ombudsman. http://www.ombudsman.org.uk

You could also try Trading Standards and give full details about the energy ombudsman’s decision. If you pay your bill by credit card, you could think about doing a chargeback. Or just take them to the Small Claims Court.

Claiming money that is not due can be a criminal offence. I have found that the only way to get sense out of Npower is to send their Chief Executive (see excellent CEO site for Scottish Power’s address) an email starting “You do not have to say anything but” etc. CAB might be able to help you with this.

Good luck