Separate data from Citizens Advice shows a 472% increase in complaints made against dual-fuel energy companies between 2013 and 2023, though it notes that this does not reflect their outcome.Alex Belsham-Harris, the head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, says: “Our advisers often hear from people who are barely making ends meet, and an inaccurate bill not only risks plunging them into debt, but can take huge effort and stress to resolve.
Britain’s big energy providers have paid more than £20m in compensation to customers for billing mistakes over the past five years, analysis by Guardian Money has found, with British Gas paying out more than a fifth of the total.
British Gas says the sector as a whole has recorded an increase in complaints since 2019, and that its complaint rates have fallen to be broadly in line with other suppliers after it invested in its customer service.
Fran Wescombe knows all too well about problems with energy billing, having seen several things going wrong since she moved into a flat with her partner in Watford, Hertfordshire, in December 2023.
We analysed cases handled by the Energy Ombudsman, the service which steps in if a customer and energy company are unable to resolve a complaint within eight weeks of it being made.
