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.

Clear and simple

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

Process

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

Communicate

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 customer's issue to avoid them having to complain about the same problem again.

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

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

Quarterly report - Q3 2020

The number of complaints recorded has increased from 39,729 in quarter 2 2020 to 90,456 in quarter 3 of 2020. This increase has been mainly due to the recent Covid-19 pandemic and switching customer demand back on across all channels within Residential, which has driven the increase in complaints. We've continued the focus on what our customers want and need, and simplifying our complaints processes remains of paramount importance.

We've 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've a chance to fix it for you.

For more information on how we manage complaints and what you can expect from us when you've a complaint, check out our complaints handling procedure.

  • Number of complaints opened
    90,456
  • Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers
    1587
  • Percentage of complaints resolved in less than a day
    58%
  • Number of complaints resolved
    77,004
  • Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers
    1351
  • Percentage of complaints resolved within eight weeks
    91%

Top reasons for complaints in 2020

Below is a breakdown of the top issues our customers complained about as a percentage of the total complaints we received.

  • Customer service


    Jul - Sep 2020 - 62%

  • Payments


    Jul - Sep 2020 - 9%

  • Debt and debt-related disconnections, non-prepayment (PPM) related


    Jul - Sep 2020 - 2%

  • Bills and meter readings


    Jul - Sep 2020 - 16%

  • My prices


    Jul - Sep 2020 - 4%

Customer service is at the heart of what we do

We are continuing to strive to put the customer at the heart of our decision making and as a result we are seeing a  quarter on quarter reduction in customer service complaints.

Complaints have a central focus in our organisation, an opportunity for us to continually improve our service. Feedback from our customers on how we are doing is essential to us, and we ensure we review any complaints we receive and learn from them. To support this, we have simplified our internal complaints process to focus on what our customers want and need. 

Previous reports

Here's a record of our annual report and last five quarterly reports.

Our annual reports
Quarterly report - Q2 2020
Quarterly report - Q2 2020

The number of complaints we recorded decreased from 86,783 in Q1 2020 to 39,729 in quarter 2 of 2020.

The percentage of complaints we resolved within eight weeks has decreased from 90.5% to 86% this quarter.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day has decreased since last quarter from 57.23% to 51%.

  • Number of complaints opened
    180,108
  • Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers
    3,079
  • Percentage 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
  • Percentage of complaints resolved within eight weeks
    94.96%
Quarterly report - Q1 2020
Quarterly report - Q1 2020

The number of complaints we recorded decreased from 97,907 in Q4 2019 to 86,783 in Q1 2020. This reduction is due to our continued focus on what our customers want and need, and by simplifying our complaints process.

The percentage of complaints we resolved within eight weeks has increased slightly from 89% to 90.5% this quarter.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day has decreased since the last quarter from 59% to 57%.

 

  • Number of complaints opened
    86,783
  • Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers
    1,501
  • Percentage of complaints resolved in less than a day
    57.23%
  • Number of complaints resolved
    74,902
  • Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers
    1,295
  • Percentage of complaints resolved within eight weeks
    90.5
Quarterly report - Q4 2019
Quarterly report - Q4 2019

The number of complaints we recorded decreased from 153,075 in Q3 2019 to 97,907 in Q4 2019. This reduction is due to our continued focus on what our customers want and need, and by simplifying our complaints process.

The percentage of complaints we resolve within eight weeks has decreased slightly from 92.10% to 89% this quarter.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day has decreased since the last quarter from 69.06% to 59%.

 

  • Number of complaints opened
    97,907
  • Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers
    1,711
  • Percentage of complaints resolved in less than a day
    59%
  • Number of complaints resolved
    87,166
  • Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers
    1,531
  • Percentage of complaints resolved within eight weeks
    89%
Quarterly report - Q3 2019

Quarterly report - Q3 2019

We're pleased that the number of complaints recorded has decreased by 4,659 from 157,734 in Q2 2019 to 153,075 in Q3 2019. Whilst this is positive news, we're continually striving to address the causes to improve our customer service further.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day has decreased since the last quarter from 72.21% to 69.06%.

The percentage of complaints we resolve within eight weeks has decreased slightly from 93.68% to 92.10% this quarter.

  • Number of complaints opened
    153,075
  • Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers
    2,711
  • Percentage of complaints resolved in less than a day
    69.06%
  • Number of complaints resolved
    136,684
  • Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers
    2,420
  • Percentage of complaints resolved within eight weeks
    92.10%

Quarterly report - Q2 2019

Q2 2019

The number of complaints has decreased by 22,374 from 180,108 in Q1 2019 to 157,734 in Q2 2019. This is 8,198 complaints higher than in the same quarter of 2018 when we received 149,536 complaints.

The percentage of complaints resolved by the end of the next working day has decreased since the last quarter from 76.01% to 72.21%.

The percentage of complaints we resolved within eight weeks has decreased slightly from 94.96% to 93.68% this quarter.

  • Number of complainst opened
    157,734
  • Number of complaints opened per 100,000 customers
    2,778
  • Percentage of complaints resoloved in less than a day
    72.21%
  • Number of complaints resolved
    140,667
  • Number of complaints resolved per 100,000 customers
    2,478
  • Percentage of complaints resolved within eight weeks
    93.68%