Complaints report

You can view or download the report in PDF format [806 kB]

(Requires Acrobat Reader)

In 2008 Ofgem introduced new regulations to ensure that all electricity companies had proper processes in place to handle complaints, and that all companies report their annual number of complaints in a consistent manner.

Under these new regulations all UK suppliers were due to publish their first report at the end of October 2009, and we've published our results here.

Take a quick look if you're interested - we think it's a pretty fantastic result.

Our aim - the best possible Customer Service

Our aim at Ecotricity is to deliver the very best possible customer service that we can.

During the past year we've launched several initiatives with the aim of advancing the level of service that we provide. And we've had a major focus on problem avoidance and problem solving. We've also made changes to our electricity Bills (making them clearer), we've invested in state of the art IT systems (probably the most advanced in the electricity industry), and we've changed a number of key processes.

Our results

Under the new arrangements, Ofgem requires all energy companies to publish the number of complaints received that have not been resolved by the end of the working day following the day of receipt.

The total number of such complaints received by Ecotricity in the year, from all sources, was 327. Of these, 326 were direct to Ecotricity and 1 was referred to the Ombudsman. We had none from any other source.

Origin of Complaints

The graph shows a dramatic and consistent downward trend in complaints from the start of the year. This reflects the introduction and success of a number of new initiatives and our focus on making sure we get things right first time - and an effective process for acting when things do go wrong.

Over the whole year the 327 complaints averages out 10 complaints per 1000 customers.

The graph also shows that over the last 3 months of this year the number of complaints not resolved within one day has reduced significantly. If this pattern were maintained for the coming year we would expect to see levels of complaints running at about 2 per 1000 customers. We believe that this is a sustainable target for the coming year. It is our target.

The graph also shows the number of complaints that customers have been escalated via the new Electricity Industry Ombudsman during the year. Ecotricity had only one complaint referred via the new Ombudsman and the Ombudsman endorsed both the way in which we handled the original complaint and the outcome.
That's one complaint escalated via the Ombudsman and none upheld. A pretty powerful endorsement we think of the efforts we go to fix things fast and fix them properly.
We had no complaints referred via Consumer Focus, the new government funded body that replaced Energywatch.

We may never reach the position of no complaints at all, but then again we just might - we're certainly getting close and we'll keep pushing.

Find out more about our complaints procedure or read our complaints code of practice. If you require a hard copy of our code of practice, please call us on 0845 555 7 100.

The Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress Act 2007 required the Office of Gas & Electricity Markets (Ofgem) to set new complaints handling regulations that are binding upon regulated energy providers. These Regulations came into legal force on 1st October 2008 and all regulated providers were required to make any necessary changes to their complaints handling arrangements by that time. A full copy of these regulations can be obtained via the Ofgem website or from Ofgem, 9 Millbank, London, SW1P3GE