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UK Energy Supplier Complaints (2024)

What are energy supplier complaints? They're essentially any contact from a customer who is not satisfied with any part of their service, from hard-to-understand bills to switching issues to technicians not arriving in a timely manner for a home visit. We've researched the market to learn which energy suppliers get the least and most complaints, as well as which complaints are most common.

Energy Supplier Complaints

In Q4 2023, energy supply companies averaged 1,276 complaints per 100,000 customers (an improvement from recent years). However, the rate of complaints is quite different depending on the size of the supplier. The large suppliers (e.g. British Gas, Bulb, EDF Energy, EonOVO, Octopus Energy, Scottish Power, nPower) have the highest complaints rates, with around 1,749 complaints per 100,000 customer accounts. The sweet spot seems to be small-sized companies, which had only 425 or so complaints per 100,000 customers on average during the same time period.

Average Energy Company Complaints

Average Energy Supplier Complaints, by sizeComplaints resolved by next working day (%)Average complaints received Q4 2023
Small39.8%425
Medium58.8%991
Large61.5%1,749
Average57.7%1,276

(The average complaints data overall was calculated by weighting the complaints from small companies x1, medium x2 and large x3.)

Another important metric is how quickly complaints are resolved. Generally speaking, just over half of complaints are resolved by the energy company by the next working day. For this metric, at first glance it seems that the larger the company, they better they are at resolving complaints by the next day. But perhaps it's just that customers of large companies have more of the small problems that can be resolved by the next day—that theory is supported by the data which shows that customers of large companies simply have more complaints!

Chart comparing UK energy supplier complaints by supplier size

Best and Worst Complaints Rates

The level of service varies quite dramatically from company to company, with the worst energy suppliers having complaints rates more than 100X that of the best energy suppliers. For example, Foxglove, Green Energy UK and Ecotricitry (all small companies) had the lowest complaints rates in Q4 2023, each with under 200 complaints per 100,000 customers. At the other end of the spectrum, large providers Ovo and EDF had complaints rates over 2,200 per 100,000.

Energy Company Complaint Rates, by company

Rank (1 = least complaints)CategorySizeComplaints received per 100,000 accounts Q4 2023
1Foxglovesmall40
2Green Energy UKsmall90
3Ecotricitysmall160
4Tru Energysmall330
5Esmall360
6So Energymedium771
7Utilitamedium797
8Utility Warehousemedium1,096
9Octopus Energy - Start Q3 2020large1,142
10Shell Energymedium1,299
11Scottish Powerlarge1,376
12Good Energysmall1,570
13Eonlarge1,660
14British Gaslarge1,765
15OVOlarge2,257
16EDF Energylarge2,295

Best and Worst Complaints Resolutions

How quickly do energy companies resolve customer complaints? Many issues are simple to fix—perhaps a question about a bill or meter reading—and should be taken care of with a simple call to customer services.

Of large suppliers, the company with the worst resolution rate in Q4 2023 was British Gas, which only resolved 47% of customer complaints by the next working day. The large supplier with the best resolution rate was E.on, with a 72% next-day resolution rate.

Keep in mind that even when a high proportion of customers have an issue, if problems appear to be resolved quickly they may not be something to worry about. And many quickly-resolved issues relate to set up.

Energy Company Complaint Rates, by company

Rank (1 = best complaint resolution)Energy CompanySizeComplaints resolved by next working day (%)
1ESmall84%
2Utility WarehouseMedium74%
2FoxgloveSmall74%
4EonLarge72%
5Octopus Energy - Start Q3 2020Large68%
6EDF EnergyLarge65%
7Scottish PowerLarge62%
8UtilitaMedium60%
9Good EnergySmall58%
10OVOLarge55%
10Shell EnergyMedium55%
12British GasLarge47%
13SO EnergyMedium46%
14Tru EnergySmall12%
15Green Energy UKSmall8%
16EcotricitySmall3%

Top 5 Complaints

What are the most common complaints people have with their energy supplier? We took a look at the top 5 most common complaints from the Big Six energy suppliers to see what goes wrong for customers most often. The top 5 most complaints from the Big Six providers were:

  • Billing and meter readings: This metric captures how easy or difficult it is for customers to understand their bills (e.g., layout and content of the bill, amount outstanding, etc.).
  • Metering: Metering complaints can arise when a technician is late or unable to attend a home visit appointments to read or change a meter (e.g., install a smart meter), whether due to bad weather, road traffic delays; or if they don't have the right equipment to finish a job.
  • Payments: Payment complaints can relate to direct debit or prepayment meter payment queries, such as the size of the bill, the method of payment, a change in consumption or personal circumstances, or following a price change.
  • Customer Service: This metric captures customer service experiences when speaking with call centre agents about services and products.
  • Change of Supplier: Complaints related to setting up new accounts, for instance when a customer switches provider.

The most common gas and electricity supplier complaints vary from company to company, however. Energy suppliers are supposed to list their top 5 complaints on their websites for customers to see. While not all companies do this, the big companies do—here are the top 5 complaints for the largest energy providers so you can compare:

Top 5 ComplaintsBritish GasEDFE.ONOVOScottish Power
Billing23%23%13.5%18%
Metering (Inc Prepayment)21%21%7.6%13%
Non-smart billing and meter reading16.7%
Smart billing and meter reading9.0%
Payments/Direct Debits19%18%12.2%19.1%30%
Debt5.5%7.1%
Credit Management4%
Customer Service14%9%42.3%27.2%34%
Change of Supplier/Switching2%
Customer Establishment1%

How to complain about your energy supplier

To make a complaints about your energy supplier, call, email or go to their website to find an online complaints form. Below we've listed complaints numbers and email addresses for dozens of popular UK energy suppliers, listed by alphabetical order:

Energy Supplier Customer ComplaintsContact NumbersEmail
Avro Energy0330 058 2005[email protected]
Bristol Energy0808 281 2222[email protected]
British Gas3332029532[email protected]
Bulb0300 303 0635[email protected]
Daligas0800 111 4568[email protected]
E0333 103 9575[email protected]
Ecotricity0345 555 7 100[email protected]
EDF Energy0333 200 5100[email protected]
ENGIE0800 170 1112[email protected]
ENSTROGA1158572572[email protected]
Entice Energy0330 403 0040[email protected]
Eon0345 052 0000
ESB Energy0345 60 70 372[email protected]
Foxglove Energy0800 017 9896[email protected]
GnERGY01252 494141[email protected]
Go Effortless Energy03333 444109
Good Energy0800 254 0000[email protected]
Green Energy UK01920 486156[email protected]
Green Network Energy0800 520 0202[email protected]
Green Star Energy0800 012 4510[email protected]
Gulf Gas & Power UK0800 830 3670
Igloo Energy0333 405 5555[email protected]
iSupply Energy0330 202 0298[email protected]
Nabuh Energy0330 0414 902[email protected]
nPower0800 316 9328[email protected]
Octopus Energy0808 164 1088[email protected]
Orbit Energy0333 103 8277[email protected]
Ovo3303035063[email protected]
PFP Energy01772 395777
Pure Planet
Robin Hood Energy0800 030 4567[email protected]
Scottish Power0800 027 0072[email protected]
Shell Energy0330 094 5800[email protected]
So Energy0330 111 5050[email protected]
SSE0345 026 2658[email protected]
Together Energy3331501699[email protected]
Tonik Energy0333 344 2686[email protected]
Utilita0345 2072 000[email protected]
Utility Point03455 57 78 78[email protected]
Utility Warehouse0333 777 0 777
Yorkshire Energy1134510700[email protected]
Zebra Energy0161 498 8100[email protected]
Zog Energy[email protected]

If you have complained to your energy supplier and you're unhappy with their decision or you haven't been given a decision in 8 weeks, you can make a formal complaint to the energy ombudsman.

Additionally, you can contact Citizens Advice at any point in the complaints process—they have lots of information on their website and even have a helpline you can call for assistance (08082231133).

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