Three energy firms 'worst rated'

Three of the biggest energy companies in the UK have been given just two stars by a consumer watchdog in a new complaints league table.

EDF, npower and ScottishPower were given the worst star rating by Consumer Focus for the number of complaints they received in relation to their market share.

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) came top of the league table with four stars, while British Gas and E.On both received three stars.

The consumer watchdog ranked the “Big Six” energy firms to help consumers decide which supplier will give them the fewest problems or best handle any complaints.

Scores were weighted to take into account the severity of each complaint such as the length of time it took to be resolved.

Consumer Focus said the “Big Six” received 4.6 million complaints in the last financial year.

Its research showed consumers wanted to be able to compare how companies handled complaints when considering switching supplier.

Energy UK, which represents the “Big Six” electricity and gas suppliers, said a uSwitch survey in September found customer satisfaction was at an all time high of 73%.

Christine McGourty, director of Energy UK, said: “Britain’s energy companies have co-operated with Consumer Focus over the past year on this. The opportunity to provide consumers with more information on the industry’s performance is welcome.

“In a competitive market, all energy companies take customer service extremely seriously. In independent surveys, customer satisfaction levels have markedly improved in recent years.”