Does your energy bill confuse you? Here’s Will Morris of the energy supplier SSE on what they’ve been doing to improve their energy bills.
Complex bills are one of the biggest bugbears for bill payers but the majority of information included on them is stipulated by rules which in many cases govern both content and format.
All the information included on energy bills is there for the right reasons, to help and inform customers, but over the years the amount of information included has grown to the point where the bill becomes cluttered and confusing.
Improving energy bills
Working with customers and consumers groups, including Which?, we at SSE have been trying to work out how to improve bills for customers. Our research has shown that customers want to be able to find the essential information they need (price, due date, account information etc) quickly, as well as a little more detail and important information such as contact details.
In general, customers have said they don’t want their bill to be more than two sides of a piece of paper and they want it presented in an attractive, clear style. We have designed a new bill which research has shown is easier to use, clearer and more engaging. Customers have told us that the design flows better and makes it easier to find key information.
We think the new design goes a long way to solve the issues, but there is of course more work to be done.
So what to do?
We support the work Ofgem is doing to improve the rules that govern what goes on an energy bill. But the most important people in this whole process are the customers, because you are the ones that have to read and understand your bill when you receive it.
So, what do you think can be improved about bills? Does our new design make it easier to find the information you need? What don’t you understand on your current bill? Would you be more likely to read your bill if it was more attractive like our new design? We need to know what you think if we’re going to make bills better for everyone.
This is a guest contribution by Will Morris, Group Managing Director at SEE. All opinions are Will’s own, not necessarily those of Which?
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