NPower have ranked bottom in a customer service league out of 100 brands, completed by consumer group Which? First Direct came out on top of the survey, which covered 100 of the UK's biggest brands across the banking, telecoms, energy, retail and travel industries. The survey of over 3,000 customers focused on customer service of brands, not on the quality or value for money of the products they offer.
Complaints to water companies have largely fallen for their sixth year in a row, according to the water bill watchdog, Consumer Council for Water (CCWater).
The number of written complaints made by customers to water companies in England and Wales fell during 2013/14 by 18 per cent – more than twice the rate of decline seen the previous year
11/09/2014
New research has found that 28.7 million British adults have not yet written a will.
The study, conducted by unbiased.co.uk, shows more than half of the population has not yet written a will.This leaves the sorting out of assets to the state, which can mean months of delays and inconvenience before loved ones know what will happen.
The “big six” energy suppliers have been ordered to refund 3 million households an average of £50 each. It has emerged that energy firms such as Npower, British Gas and EDF have accumulated around £153m in overpayments over the last six years, which are yet to be reclaimed by customers.
Thousands of pensioners and people on low incomes are missing out on a £140 winter fuel bill discount to help with their bills. Eligible customers are not coming forward to claim their one off payment of £140 to help with their winter gas bills which is available to claim between the months of October and March.
Smart meters, which are due to be installed into every home in Britain by 2020, will only save consumers 2%, or £26, on their annual bills. Even though the smart meters may help consumers reduce their energy consumption, they will only save 2% on their bills annually. Installing the meters will cost £215 per household and homes will be charged an annual cost on their bills of about £11 to cover this.
New figures released have shown the six biggest energy companies in England are continuing to lose market share to smaller suppliers. five years ago, the large suppliers had 99.8% of the market, which has now gone down to 92.4%.
EDF Energy has been told to pay £3m to a Citizens Advice scheme for the benefit of “vulnerable customers”, after an investigation by Ofgem found the company had poorly managed a number of complaints.
Ofgem found that after a new IT system was introduced in 2011, complaints increased by 30%. This was because the system did not give the company the ability to properly receive, record and process customer complaints.
Energy prices could actually be getting pushed up by aggressive regulation of the market, according to a letter that has been sent to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The letter which was written by a group of former energy regulators, claimed that rising energy costs and a lack of competition could be a result of over-regulation.
Energy bills are the biggest worry to European homeowners, ahead of rent and mortgage repayments, a survey of 17,000 households has revealed.
The survey on attitudes to home improvement, which was conducted by DIY retail group Kingfisher, revealed that 31% of European homeowners intended to introduce measures to cut their energy bills.
