Customer satisfaction with energy providers hits a new low

Npower has been voted as the worst company for customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction with energy providers is at a new low, according to consumer group Which?

Each company was judged on five factors and then given an overall score. These were customer service, value for money, accuracy and clarity of bills, complaint handling and helping customers to save money.

During the research more than 8,500 energy customers got involved to share their opinions.

In its latest study the average overall score given to energy companies was just 41%, a drop from 49% last year and one of the lowest average scores recorded.

The worst companies

The Big Six providers occupy the six bottom spots in the Which? survey. Npower takes last spot with a dreadful score of 31%, followed by British Gas at 39%, SSE at 41%, EDF Energy with 44% and E.ON at 45%.

Npower came bottom in the Which? survey for the third consecutive year. In a recent Consumer Futures survey it was also in last place for the second year running.

The company received just one star out of five for the categories of complaint handling, helping customers to save money and value for money.

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The best companies

The top half of the list of suppliers is dominated by smaller companies. Good Energy and Ecotricity were in joint first place with an overall score of 82%. They both scored five out of five for each category.

Utility Warehouse was in third place, with an overall score of 75% followed by Ebico at 74% and Ovo Energy with 73%.

For the first time Spark Energy and Utilita were included in the results in seventh and tenth place respectively.

One of the main reasons the big energy companies were scored poorly is because customers believe they can’t tell the difference between providers. This is another reason why smaller independent suppliers which offer an alternative to the Big Six did so well.

Here is the full list:

Cut your energy bills

How to cut your energy bills

Switching energy providers is an easy way to save money as most new deals and discounts are reserved for new customers.

This is also a good way to move away from a provider if it's not performing well. You can save around £300 when you switch, especially if you’ve not done it in a while.

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Are you an Npower customer? Does this report make you want to switch companies? Let me know in the box below.

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