7 reasons energy suppliers wind you up

'It took me hours to get through to my energy supplier, and then they couldn't resolve my issue.' If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. 

Long waits to speak to someone, short customer service hours, few options to get in touch, and difficulties getting the help you need when you do get through are among the issues our research has uncovered. 

We surveyed more than 9,000 energy customers in October 2023 to rate 16 suppliers, and dived deep into 18 firms' behind-the-scenes practices. We found out what aggravates you the most and what companies are doing about it. 

None of the 16 firms in our survey achieved more than three (out of five) stars for the accessibility of their services (whether you can engage with your supplier how you want and need to). None of them managed more than three stars for how clear their statements are, either. 

It's clear there's much room for improvement across the board. 

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We want to hear about bad customer service experiences you've had in the past three years. Please take a few minutes to answer our short survey.

1. Limited options to get in touch with your energy supplier

'Initially you're sent through to an online service centre where they don’t understand the issue and give you a series of pre-typed generic answers which simply do not answer the question.'

We found big differences between how you can get in touch with energy providers. All of the 18 we looked at had a phone number for their customer services, but other ways to get in touch varied:

• Live chat: Only half of energy companies offered live chat where you could speak to a real person. Two others were trialling it.
• Email and webform: Nine companies provided a webform and 16 had an email address for customer service (including seven of those with webforms).
• Social media: Six firms let you contact them via WhatsApp, 11 let you contact them via Instagram and all except one let you contact them via Facebook or X.

2. Short customer service opening hours

'They have been going out of their way to make it more difficult to contact them by telephone by reducing the hours of the day that they are open and the number of days a week that their call centres are open.'

If you work from 9am until 5pm on weekdays, with an hour's commute at each end, there were just six firms out of the 18 in our assessment that you'd be able to speak to on the phone when you're at home.

For live web chat, just four of the firms we looked at had agents available to message outside of 8am to 6pm.

At weekends, you can phone eight of the firms, but hours vary. We found that some would take calls all day on both Saturday and Sunday, while others opened for just four hours on Saturday morning.

Eight firms had live chat available in some capacity at weekends, mostly on Saturday. You could contact just three firms via live chat on a Sunday.

3. Long waits to speak to someone

'When calling they take a long time to answer and sometimes the call is terminated before it connects to an operator.'

People in our survey told us about:

• long waits on the phone
• phone calls being cut off
• long waits on live chat to speak to a real person
• slow responses/ no response to emails.

In a separate piece of research last year into customer service across key sectors, 33% of those who contacted an energy supplier's customer services were unhappy with how long it took to get in touch with someone who could help. 

They were more likely to be unhappy about waiting times than those who contacted financial services, retail or telecoms companies.

Find out more about our investigation into sub-standard customer service.

4. It's difficult to get help

'I have been passed from person to person online, spending hours and still not reaching a resolution.'

A quarter of people in our survey (26%) said they found it difficult to get help with their problem when they contacted their energy supplier about it.

People told us about having to explain themselves repeatedly, being passed between staff members, having to contact their provider several times, and waiting weeks (sometimes months) for their query to be resolved.

When you contact your energy supplier, make a note of what you were told and when. Keep screen grabs of live chat, or notes of phone calls so you can refer back to them later or have evidence if you need to make a complaint. Ask for timescales and next steps so you know what to expect.

If regular customer service channels are lagging and you're not reaching a satisfactory conclusion, you may be better off lodging a formal complaint.

5. It's difficult to complain

'I have raised several problems and a complaint and have heard nothing.'

Some 5% of customers in our survey had contacted their energy provider in the past year to make a formal complaint.

Of these customers, 47% said their energy provider made it difficult for them to do this. 

You have the right to complain to your energy supplier if you're not happy with its service.

All energy firms should have a formal complaints process. Look for this on your supplier's website or on your energy bill or statement (sometimes it's printed on the back). It should set out how you should complain, the correct contact details to use, and what to expect from them.

Your energy supplier must try to resolve your complaint within eight weeks. Many issues can be resolved much faster. 

If it doesn't don't meet this time frame, or you're not happy with your supplier's response at the end of it, you can escalate it to the Energy Ombudsman.

Find out how to complain to your energy company and how to complain to an Ombudsman.

6. Problems aren't solved quickly

'It took me months to get my issue resolved because customer services was so disjointed.'

Customers were particularly dissatisifed with suppliers' handling of problems to do with:

• excess credit not being refunded
• broken smart meter displays
• smart meters not sending readings. 

More than two in five customers who faced these issues were dissatisfied with how their provider handled it.

7. No freephone number for customer service

Just five firms, of the 18 we assessed, offered a freephone number (0800 or 0808) as their main customer service number.

The other 13 didn't. Instead, they offered a geographic number (beginning 01 or 02) or UK-wide numbers beginning 0300, 0333 or 0345.

If you have a phone contract or Sim-only deal that includes calls, texts and data, these numbers are usually included in your call minutes and won't cost any extra. They're often included in landline contract call minutes too.

But if you don't have minutes included in your contract (or you've used all your free minutes), they can be costly (for example 40p per minute with EE).

Many energy suppliers have a separate freephone number for those who might be in financial hardship or a vulnerable situation.

Why energy suppliers must improve customer service

Energy customers face many challenges when they want to engage with their provider. This adds extra stress while energy prices are still high.

This is why Which? is campaigning for companies to improve their customer service. 

Waiting times need to be cut, customers should be getting better help with their queries, and businesses need stronger incentives to up their game.

Customers should be able to:

• contact companies easily, without unnecessary barriers, and in the way that suits them best – whether that's speaking to a person or a chatbot
• get the answers they need without long waits or endless loops
• stay informed and be treated fairly, with empathy and as an individual.

All customer quotes in this piece come from our online survey of 9,025 members of the public in October 2023.