Biggest energy suppliers are bottom of satisfaction charts

ENERGY consumers have been urged by watchdogs to switch to smaller rivals to save money and get better service.

The call comes after the UK’s biggest providers have come bottom of the customer satisfaction charts yet again.

Small energy provider Outfox The Market has knocked Octopus Energy off the top spot in an annual energy satisfaction survey by Which?, while industry giants languish at the bottom of the rankings yet again.

The traditional “Big Six” – British Gas, EDF, E.ON, Npower, Scottish Power and SSE – were among the bottom eight firms in the table.

In a year when millions of people have been living under lockdown and racking up substantial gas and electricity bills, finding a goodvalue energy supplier has never been more important.

Consumer champion Which? surveyed more than 8,000 people in September about their experiences with energy providers across a range of categories, including bill accuracy, customer service, complaints handling and value for money.

Outfox The Market, which was founded in 2017, finished at the top of the table, rising from 19th position last year.

The small energy provider frequently offers some of the cheapest deals on the market and received an impressive customer score of 82 per cent, with five-star ratings for billing accuracy and value for money. It had the highest proportion of customers – 93 per cent – that experienced no issues in the last 12 months, but was not named a Which? Recommended Provider as it did not provide enough information on its procedures.

Following two years at the top, Octopus Energy was second in this year’s satisfaction survey but still achieved an impressive 80 per cent customer score. It is now one of the UK’s largest energy providers, supplying 1.5million homes, however this rapid growth has not stopped it from keeping customers happy.

Octopus Energy achieved a fivestar rating for bill accuracy and four stars for bill clarity, customer service, complaints handling and value for money. For the fourth year in a row, Octopus Energy was also named a Which? Recommended Provider, along with digital-only challenger Pure Planet for the second year in a row.