Energy market needs a refit after a string of scandals

Remember when the banks were seen by business as public enemy number one? After the financial crisis, when they nearly

- JAMES MOORE

The sheer awfulness of what was reported meant that another of its releases, this time on the subject of the industry’s dismal customer service, was pushed into the background. Pity. Other suppliers mightn’t have behaved as badly as British Gas or its contractors appear to have done. But that’s not saying much.

The watchdog found weak policies, poor handling of complaints, dodgy scripts handed to poorly trained staff to handle complex calls. And yes, you may very well be wondering how on earth a predetermined script” could properly handle a complex call in the first place. I know I am.

That is, of course, if customers could even get through to their provider. Ofgem found that callers were repeatedly left hanging on the telephone for hours on end. We’ve all been there. Your call is important to us,” when it isn’t. We are experiencing an exceptionally high volume of calls.” And they always are, regardless of when you call.

The advice given to consumers in financial difficulty whether with a bank, an insurer, or a utility such as these is always to call them. Explain the problem. Seek assistance. They have policies in place. They can help. Tough to do that when they hang up the phone. That happened, too.