Big Six energy firms slammed by customers in satisfaction survey as smaller suppliers prove popular

The country’s biggest energy firms have fallen out of favour with customers as smaller suppliers topped a consumer satisfaction survey.

The so-called Big Six energy suppliers – British Gas, EDF, Eon, Npower, Scottish Power and SSE – were left languishing at the bottom of the table following a Which survey of 8,000 customers across the country.

The survey ranked firms based on value for money, billing accuracy and customer service.

Challenger firm Octopus Energy, which supplies more than 400,000 homes and recently partnered with Marks and Spencer, topped the table.

SSE was the best performer of the country’s biggest six firms, in 22nd place out of the 30 companies surveyed, while Npower and Scottish Energy did the worst in joint 27th.

Failed supplier Economy Energy, which recently ceased trading, would have been second last in the survey but was removed from the results.

Small supplier Solarplicity finished bottom of the survey results, with a customer satisfaction score of 44 per cent.

“Our survey shows the importance of value for money and good customer service – energy supplier delivering both to their customers tend to be thriving, while the ‘big six’ and other poorly-ranked firms are paying the price for not giving customers what they want,” managing director of home products and services at Which, Alex Neill said.

“All energy companies should be working to give their customers competitive prices and excellent customer service.

“If you’re not getting a good deal, you should look to switch, as you could potentially save over a hundred pounds and get a much improved service,” Neill added.

Rachel Reeves, chair of Parliament’s business, energy and industrial strategy committee, said: “Having ripped off loyal customers on standard variable tariffs (SVTs) for far too long, this survey shows that they aren’t delivering a service which is up-to-scratch either.

“Customers should continue to shop around because they cannot rely on energy suppliers giving consumers a good deal or delivering the quality customer service which they deserve.”