Complaints about energy firms soar to highest ever level
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Complaints about energy firms have soared to the highest number ever recorded in the first three months of this year with a 224 per cent rise on the first quarter of 2013, the energy sector’s ombudsman said.
Complaints trebled to 10,638 between January and March, compared with 3,277 received during the same period last year.
The numbers suggest that there will be more complaints overall in 2014, as there were 17,960 complaints made over a 12-month period last year.
A spokeswoman for the ombudsman said the “unbelievable” increase was due to greater pressures on families and individuals financially, which meant they were less willing to put up with poor service.
The latest figures come soon after regulator Ofgem said that it was referring the sector to the Competition and Markets Authority for a full-scale competition inquiry.
More than 2,000 consumers complained about not receiving bills, while 1,474 people made complaints about billing charges. More than 1,000 criticised customer service.
The Chief Ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith said: “We welcome any attempts by Ofgem to make the energy market fairer,” he said.
A spokeswoman for the trade body Energy UK said: “Energy companies work very hard to resolve problems and most complaints are fixed within a few working days.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments