Complaints surge as more energy customers find troubles with switching suppliers

Switching energy supplier has become the second biggest cause of complaints among customers as increasing numbers choose to vote with their feet.

Data from the Energy Ombudsman shows the number of complaints which originated in the switching process rose 14 per cent year-on-year to 1,016 in the last quarter of 2018.

Read more: Ombudsman warns customers are not getting justice as energy suppliers fail

Across the year the arbiter dealt with 3,352 energy-switching complaints, around half of which were linked to billing, refunds or credit balances.

“As levels of switching amongst consumers increase, we are naturally seeing more complaints about it. A growing proportion of the switching complaints we see are about small suppliers,” the ombudsman said in a statement.

Billing remained the biggest issue that customers faces, making up well over half of all complaints. Customer service complaints were the third most common.

It comes as smaller suppliers have struggled in a competitive market. Around a dozen small companies have gone bust since the beginning of 2018 This has left a £1m hole in the ombudsman’s budget and making it tough for consumers to get redress, City A.M. revealed earlier this week.

More than a quarter of switching complaints filed with the ombudsman came from small suppliers, up from just 15 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Energy Ombudsman chief executive Matthew Vickers said: “Switching energy supplier can help consumers get better value for money and better customer service, so it’s important that they can have confidence in the switching process.

“Our data shows, however, that too often changing supplier can cause issues that take weeks to resolve and require escalation to us as the ombudsman.”

Read more: Chair of troubled energy supplier URE Energy blasted by ex-investors

Switching service Uswitch said that 600,000 households changed supplier in March, with some saving more than £300.

“It is vital that energy companies, big and small, keep pace with increasing switching demand to ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible. Issues when switching are very rare, but it is vital for consumer confidence that the process is right every time,” said Uswitch energy expert Sarah Broomfield.