Utility Week

26 | 12TH - 18TH OCTOBER 2018 | UTILITY WEEK Customers have been made, it's simply not good enough that only a third of customers are happy with how their complaints are handled," she said. Driving satisfaction The research showed that satisfaction was driven by professional staff encountered at the start of the complaint journey, and more consistency with getting back to complain- ants when agreed. This helped to reduce the information vacuum, as well as the effort complainants needed to make, to get the complaint resolved. According to the report, this treatment needs to be injected further into the process more consistently to drive satisfaction with complaint handling upwards. Clearly, there is room for improvement, as the survey found the proportion of domestic customers who are dissatisfied (57 per cent) remains higher than those satisfied with how their complaint had been dealt with. The main contributors to high levels of dissatisfaction were the length of time taken to resolve the issue, not being kept up to date with the progress of the complaint, and sup- pliers not providing complainants with a clear view of how long the resolution would take. Just under half of complaints were con- sidered unresolved by complainants (42 per cent) and the main reason for this was the lack of communication from suppliers con- firming otherwise. The closure and impact of the complaints process also remains a thorny issue. Just over half of complainants said their complaints had been resolved (58 per cent) and reported resolution times have indeed shortened compared to 2016. But despite this, fewer than one in five complainants (18 per cent) reported receiving resolutions timings at the start of the process which matched how long the complaints ultimately took to resolve. The research found that expectations of what complainants would receive were largely met by suppliers. Most complain- ants with resolved cases said they received at least a rectification of the problem. How- ever, fewer (around one in three) received What the poor-performing companies have to say "It's right that Ofgem is holding the industry to account over customer service on behalf of consumers. Its report highlights signifi- cant improvements made in our complaints handling performance over the past two years and we look forward to reassuring Ofgem as we continue that improvement. "The vast majority of our customers are very happy – as our numerous customer service awards support – although we recognise that there are still some areas in which we could be better. We are constantly improving and we're one of the few provid- ers to embrace third-party complaints reso- lution tools like Resolver to make it easier and more transparent for our customers." First Utility spokesperson "We are always open to improvements and are confident that through working with Ofgem we can continue to build on our extremely high standards and swi resolu- tion of issues. "We pride ourselves on great customer service and will be interested to receive the details of the customer responses from this survey, so that we can establish the reason for the scores." Ovo Energy spokesperson "Ofgem's survey was conducted earlier this year and related to customer complaints dat- ing back to November 2017. "At that time we had already begun overhauling some of our processes as part of our on-going commitment to continuously monitor and improve them. "We know we can always improve, and we will take on board any legitimate criti- cism. However, we are really pleased with the progress we have made this year and this has been borne out by more recent statis- tics from both the Energy Ombudsman and Citizens Advice. "In fact, our complaints per 100,000 cus- tomers fell by 68 per cent between Q4 2017 and Q2 2018." Utilita spokesperson "We are pleased the survey shows we are the most improved company for complaint handling satisfaction, but we know we still have further to go. "We will continue to work with Ofgem as we roll out new complaint handling processes and training to further speed-up our progress. Meanwhile, our overall service levels continue to improve, as shown across a range of external surveys and scorecards." Scottish Power spokesperson an explanation of the problem, which was something most expected to receive. In fact, those who received an explanation of the problem were more satisfied with the entire process than those who had not received an explanation. According to the report, this has become an important step for suppliers to fulfil to ensure the complainants' expecta- tions and needs are met. Alternative solutions Matthew Vickers, chief executive at the Energy Ombudsman (interviewed on p10 of this issue), believes another key step for suppliers is ensuring complainants are given more information about third-party solutions and alternative redress routes. "Making consumers aware of their right to complain to us, or 'signposting' to use the jargon, is a big issue for us because we think it's important that consumers know their rights. Consumers deserve to be made aware of their options if and when a complaint can't be resolved. "Ofgem's research shows that only 15 per cent of consumers with an unresolved com- plaint were sent a letter by their supplier referring them to us – the same proportion as two years ago. Of the 9 per cent of sur- vey respondents who had contacted us, less than half had received such a letter from their supplier. "While many suppliers do a good job of signposting – there are some great examples of best practice out there – these figures are disappointing. We would like to see clear, effective signposting across the industry and are working with suppliers to highlight con- cerns and make improvements." Vickers also acknowledged that with consumers becoming more technologically savvy, suppliers must find new ways to engage with their customers. He said: "In this digital age, it's strange that we are still talking exclusively about let- ters and written notices. Consumers expect swi resolution of complaints and clear, simple communication through a channel that suits them." The regulator's recommendations Automating provision of complaint handling procedure information/making it more accessible Having access to the complaint handling procedures would increase the likelihood that complainants are clearer on what to expect and feel a sense of transparency about the process. Automating that process, rather than having initial contact staff send it out, could make this process smoother. A more structured approach to keeping complainants updated Either an online system, update in writing or via SMS, or a scheduled call, depending on contact preferences, would ensure the complainant does not feel "in the dark" about the progress of their complaint. Formalising complaint closure by logging it only if the complainant gives their explicit permission to do so This could help reduce the resolution gap. However, it could mean that resolution periods increase further as complainants may feel problems have not been adequately addressed. Here, closer and more rigorous adherence to complaints-handling standards would help, and would ensure the supplier seeks to resolve the issue fully the first time.

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