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UK Energy Supplier Complaints (2026)

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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 January 2026, the latest data from Q3 2025 showed that energy supply companies averaged 1,027 complaints per 100,000 customers (a 30% improvement in one year). However, the rate of complaints is quite different depending on the size of the supplier.

Notably, large suppliers (e.g. British Gas, EDF Energy, Eon, OVO, Octopus Energy, Scottish Power) have improved their complaints rates by 30% in one year, with the most recent data indicating around 1,026 complaints per 100,000 customer accounts. In contrast, the complaints for medium suppliers (e.g. Utilita, So Energy, Utility Warehouse) have worsened by 33% in one year, with Q3 2025 data indicating 1,321 complaints per 100,000 customer accounts. Small energy suppliers have the best complaints rates—with only 233 complaints per 100,000 customers on average during the same time period.

If you want to choose based on complaints rates, small suppliers are the best, followed by large suppliers, then medium suppliers are the worst.

Average Energy Company Complaints

Average Energy Supplier Complaints, by sizeComplaints resolved by next working day (%)Average complaints received per 100,000 accounts Q3 2025
Small43.8%233
Medium62.0%1,321
Large62.2%1,026
Average60.4%1,027

Another important metric is how quickly complaints are resolved. Generally speaking, just over two-thirds of complaints are resolved by the energy company by the next working day. Historically the larger companies were better at this metric; but most recently, it's the small companies that are quickest at resolving 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, Outfox, E, Green Energy UK and Ecotricity (all small companies) had the lowest complaints rates in Q3 2025, all with under 300 complaints per 100,000 customers. However, the company with the worst rate was also a "small" supplier (Tru Energy, with 2,230 complaints per 100,000 customers).

With the exception of Scottish Power, all other large suppliers have improved their complaints rates in the past year.

Energy Company Complaint Rates, by company

Rank (1 = least complaints)Energy CompanySizeAverage complaints per 100,000 accounts Q3 2025
1Outfoxsmall10
2Esmall100
3Green Energy UKsmall130
4Ecotricitysmall280
5Octopus Energy - Start Q3 2020large551
6Good Energysmall590
7Eonlarge868
8Utilitamedium930
9EDF Energylarge1,160
10British Gaslarge1,222
11So Energymedium1,330
12Scottish Powerlarge1,421
13OVOlarge1,460
14Utility Warehousemedium1,561
15Tru Energysmall2,230

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.

In previous years, the small companies were generally best at quick complaint resolution, but recently this has shifted and now the lowest complaints resolution stats hail from small companies (e.g. Outfox, Green Energy UK, Ecotricity and Tru Energy resolved complaints by the next working day less than 35% of the time.

The best for quick complaints resolution was Utility Warehouse, which resolved 83% of complaints within one working day.

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 (%)
1Utility WarehouseMedium83%
2ESmall78%
3EDF EnergyLarge76%
4OVOLarge67%
5Good EnergySmall66%
5UtilitaMedium66%
7Scottish PowerLarge64%
8EonLarge60%
9British GasLarge59%
10Octopus Energy - Start Q3 2020Large47%
11SO EnergyMedium37%
12OutfoxSmall35%
13Green Energy UKSmall28%
14EcotricitySmall12%
15Tru EnergySmall0%

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 some of the largest energy providers so you can compare:

Top 5 Complaints (Q3 2025)British GasEDFE.ONOVOScottish Power
Billing47%34%
Metering (Inc Prepayment)5%14%
General billing and meter reading15%12.4%7.7%
Smart billing and meter reading8%5.8%11.2%
Payments/Direct Debits26%15%14.3%18.5%27%
Debt5%8.4%9.7%
Credit Management6%
Customer Service9%36%37.6%36.7%10%

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
British Gas3332029532[email protected]
E0333 103 9575[email protected]
Ecotricity0345 555 7 100[email protected]
EDF Energy0333 200 5100[email protected]
Eon0345 052 0000
Green Energy UK01920 486156[email protected]
Octopus Energy0808 164 1088[email protected]
Ovo3303035063[email protected]
Scottish Power0800 027 0072[email protected]
So Energy0330 111 5050[email protected]
Utilita0345 2072 000[email protected]
Utility Warehouse0333 777 0 777

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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