Residential

How we're handling our customer complaints

We work hard to stop things going wrong so you don’t have to get in touch with us. But we know we’re not perfect, so if something’s not right, it's important we fix it as soon as we can.

We must publish our complaints procedure and make the process for handling complaints clear and straight forward.

We must ensure we follow our process every time and make sure you know what it is.

We must make sure you know where you are in our process, from the time you first make a complaint to when we resolve it.

Our commitment

We’re committed to doing whatever we can to resolve complaints as quickly as possible. We aim to fully fix the customers issue to avoid them having to complain about the same problem again.

We started publishing detailed complaints data in March 2012 as we believed that it was important customers could see how their supplier dealt with problems.

We will continue to provide this quarterly information to show our performance over the past year.

Quarterly report - Q1 2019

The number of complaints has increased by 14,862 from 165,246 in quarter four of 2018 to 180,108 in quarter one of 2019. This is 16,358 complaints higher than in the same quarter of 2018 when we received 163,750 complaints.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day has increased since last quarter from 75.58%.to 76.01%.

The percentage of complaints we resolve within 8 weeks has decreased slightly from 95.38% to 94.96% this quarter.

Number of complaints opened

180,108
Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers

3,079
% of complaints resolved in less than a day

76.01%
Number of complaints resolved

162,200
Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers

2,773
% of complaints resolved within 8 weeks

94.96%

Customer service

Jan - March 2018 - 64%
Payments

Jan - March 2018 - 8%
Prepayment classic metering

Jan - March 2018 - 3%
Bills and meter readings

Jan - March 2018 - 12%
My prices

Jan - March 2018 - 6%

Customer service is at the heart of what we do

In July 2018, we made changes to the way we categorise our complaints. Complaints about our letters and systems are now recorded in the customer service category causing an increase in that area. These were previously recorded under the billing category which has seen a decrease in complaints.

We've recruited more staff in our contact centres in quarter four with a key focus on the service we provide our customers. Responding to our customers' queries in a timely manner continues to be a focus.

Bills and meter readings

We continue to focus on providing accurate bills for customers where we have been unsuccessful in obtaining meter readings for some time.

Our smart meter roll out continues to support us getting bills right for our customers. We’ve currently installed over 1.5 million smart meters, giving our customers better control of their energy use and helping make estimated energy bills a thing of the past.

Payments

We’ve made further improvements to our systems; making it easier for colleagues to have helpful conversations with our customers who may be facing payment difficulty. Identifying this early helps us to treat customers fairly and understand their ability to pay.

It is a key focus for us to work with customers to agree affordable and sustainable payment arrangements and help minimise the impact of their energy bills.

We offer a wide range of payment options, including Direct Debit, prepayment and Smart Pay as You Go so that customers can choose to pay by a method that is most suitable for them.

Advisors are trained how to have the right conversations to understand a customers financial situation and offer fair payment arrangements to customers who are experiencing payment difficulties. If a customer is concerned about their ability to make payments, we advise them to get in touch as soon as possible so that we can help.

The E.ON Energy Fund can help our most vulnerable customers who are struggling to pay for their energy. It can provide assistance in the payment of energy bill arrears, as well as the purchase and replacement of household items such as cookers, fridges, fridge-freezers and washing machines or gas boilers. Customers can also apply for a number of online courses to support them in managing their finances, staying out of debt, earning a qualification and, if needed, getting back into work.

You can find out more information about the eligibility criteria and apply either online or by calling 0330 380 1090, where you can request that we send you a form by post or apply directly over the phone.

Helping customers be more energy efficient is also key to keeping bills and payments affordable. Under the ECO scheme, eligible customers who own or privately rent their properties, can apply for funding for a replacement gas boiler. This means that if their boiler is broken or faulty, they can apply for a brand new A-rated boiler for a fraction of the regular price.

My prices

In quarter four we started to quote our customers on our new Residential Price Cap for Standard Variable tariffs. This is ahead of the Price Cap coming into effect on 1 January 2019. You can learn more about the energy Price Cap and how it affects you here.

We have also launched our new Secure Bill tariff, which fixes customers Direct Debit payments for the next 12 months, meaning you can rest easy and not worry about energy bills.

Your payments won’t change, no matter how much energy you use. And by using less energy you could decrease your prices for the year after.

What should I do if I want to complain to E.ON?

We have a clear process for handling complaints. The first step is to contact us and let us know you’re dissatisfied. It’s important that you let us know about what’s gone wrong so we have a chance to fix it for you.

For more information on how we manage complaints and what you can expect from us when you have a complaint, read our complaints handling procedure.

You can find our complaints processes below:

Previous reports

Reports from previous quarters can be found below

Why customers complained in 2018

Customer service

Jan - March 2018 - 47%

Apr - Jun 2018 - 47%

Jul - Sept 2018 - 61%

Oct - Dec 2018 - 64%
Payments

Jan - March 2018 - 11%

Apr - Jun 2018 - 13%

Jul - Sept 2018 - 12%

Oct - Dec 2018 - 1%
Sales and renewals

Jan - March 2018 - 2%

Apr - Jun 2018 - 2%

Jul - Sept 2018 - 3%

Oct - Dec 2018 - 3%
Bills and letters

Jan - March 2018 - 24%

Apr - Jun 2018 - 25%

Jul - Sept 2018 - 13%

Oct - Dec 2018 - 11%
Metering

Jan - March 2018 - 10%

Apr - Jun 2018 - 9%

Jul - Sept 2018 - 4%

Oct - Dec 2018 - 5%

Our annual reports

Quarterly report - Q4 2018

Q4 2018

The number of complaints increased by 10,729 from 154,517 in Q3 2018 to 165,246 in Q4 218. This is 4,277 complaints higher than in the same quarter of 2017 when we received 160,969 complaints.

We changed how we categorise our complaints from July 2018 which is why our top five reasons are now different.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day decreased since the previous quarter from 77.59% to 75.58%. The percentage of complaints we resolved within 8 weeks increased slightly from 94.97% to 95.38% this quarter.

Number of complaints opened

165,246
Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers

2,720
% of complaints resolved in less than a day

75.58%
Number of complaints resolved

147,884
Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers

2,434
% of complaints resolved within 8 weeks

95.38%

Quarterly report - Q3 2018

Q3 2018

The number of complaints increased by 4,981 from 149,536 in Q2 2018 to 154,517 in Q3 2018. This is 2,219 complaints lower than in the same quarter of 2017 when we received 156,736 complaints.

We changed how we categorise our complaints from July 2018 which is why our top five reasons are now different.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day increased since the previous quarter from 69.19% to 77.59%. The percentage of complaints we resolved within 8 weeks increased slightly from 93.48% to 94.97% this quarter.

Number of complaints opened

154,517
Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers

2,517
% of complaints resolved in less than a day

77.59%
Number of complaints resolved

139,727
Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers

2,277
% of complaints resolved within 8 weeks

94.97%

Quarterly report - Q2 2018

Q2 2018

The number of complaints decreased by 14,214 from 163,750 in Q1 2018 to 149,536 in Q2 2018. This was 13,753 complaints higher than in the same quarter of 2017 when we received 135,783 complaints.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day slightly improved since the previous quarter from 68.88% to 69.19%. The percentage of complaints we resolved within 8 weeks decreased slightly from 93.74% to 93.48% this quarter.

Number of complaints opened

149,536
Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers

2,415
% of complaints resolved in less than a day

69.19%
Number of complaints resolved

147,180
Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers

2,377
% of complaints resolved within 8 weeks

93.48%

Quarterly report - Q1 2018

Number of complaints opened

163,750
Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers

2,607
% of complaints resolved in less than a day

68.88%
Number of complaints resolved

159,419
Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers

2,538
% of complaints resolved within 8 weeks

93.74%

Quarterly report - Q4 2017

Q4 2017

The number of complaints increased by 4,233 from 156,736 in Q3 2017 to 160,969 in Q4. This is 43,697 complaints higher than in the same quarter of 2016.

Long call waits were still causing higher volumes of complaints in Q4. We continued to work on service stabilisation and this resulted in wait times improving across the quarter to within two minutes in December. We expected to see this lead to a reduced number of complaints on this topic in Q1 2018.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day slightly decreased since the previous quarter from 70.88% to 69.17%. There was a slight increase in the percentage of complaints we resolved within 8 weeks against the last quarter from 93.43% to 93.74%.

Number of complaints opened

160,969
Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers

2,573
% of complaints resolved in less than a day

69.17%
Number of complaints resolved

157,084
Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers

2,511
% of complaints resolved within 8 weeks

93.74%

Quarterly report - Q3 2017

Q3 2017

The number of complaints increased by 20,953 from 135,783 in Q2 2017 to 156,736 in Q3. This is 50,099 complaints higher than in the same quarter of 2016.

This increase was due to us taking longer to answer the phone than we'd like to. It's something we're working hard to put right.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day increased since the previous quarter from 67.62% to 70.88%. There was also an increase in the percentage of complaints we resolved within 8 weeks against the last quarter from 92.52% to 93.43%.

Number of complaints opened

156,736
Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers

2,553
% of complaints resolved in less than a day

70.88%
Number of complaints resolved

152,963
Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers

2,491
% of complaints resolved within 8 weeks

92.43%

Quarterly report - Q2 2017

Number of complaints opened

135,783
Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers

2,211
% of complaints resolved in less than a day

67.62%
Number of complaints resolved

134,104
Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers

2,184
% of complaints resolved within 8 weeks

95.52%

Quarterly report - Q1 2017

Number of complaints opened

139,477
Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers

2,250
% of complaints resolved in less than a day

67.39%
Number of complaints resolved

137,075
Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers

2,211
% of complaints resolved within 8 weeks

92.07%