Utility Week

28 | MARCH 2021 | UTILITY WEEK Talking Points… Riding the storm: How Outfox changed its fortunes B illing errors and retrospective direct debit alterations resulted in turbulent begin- nings for Outfox the Market. Yet the energy retailer has since come a long way and was last month ranked as the UK's top supplier in the 2020 Which? survey, dethroning Octopus Energy, which had taken € rst place over two consecutive years. Founded by Keith and Maria Bastian in 2017, Outfox su… ered widespread criticism from customers for the direct debit changes and the billing error which resulted in signi€ cant price hikes. In January 2019 Ofgem was in an "active discussions" with Outfox regarding customer service issues with par- ent company Foxglove and associated labels. As well as now being the Which? top-ranked supplier it has an "excellent" rating of 4.6 on Trustpilot, follow- ing more than 24,800 reviews. So, where did it all go right? Bastian puts it simply: "We failed, but we learned from it." With the help of his brother Ken, who was brought in with a remit to change the philosophy of the business, Bastian set out to take the very frank feedback they received from customers as a springboard. He says: "While customers were quite robust in their views about us, we were grateful because we learned a hell of a lot from it. We took it on board, we sat down and said now we are going to embark on a two-year plan to change the reputation of the business, that's what Ken did and the compliment goes to him and his team for the great work they put together." For his part, Ken describes how he wanted all sta… , regardless of their position, to be willing to tackle cus- tomer issues. Since this change in tack Outfox has seen improved response times to emails, with each being responded to within the same day, as well as a 10 second response time for live chat. This approach of failing quick and learning fast has sparked a remarkable turnaround at Outfox. Could it prove a model for other struggling suppliers? Adam John, reporter Comment: Outfox the Market has shown that if you're willing to learn from your mistakes you can turn failure into success. The news in numbers: The Fuel Bank Foundation, which provides emer- gency nancial support to people in fuel crisis, has published results from a survey of more than 380 peo- ple who have previ- ously accessed its services. It found: 89% are currently strug- gling to top up their prepayment energy meters. 82% said lockdown had made them more worried about run- ning out of money to pay for energy. 96% have had to make the choice between topping up their meter and buying food for their fam- ily, with 60% hav- ing to make that choice on a daily or weekly basis. 91% have had to ration heating and hot water. 80% said they had been forced to choose between having a cooked meal or using fuel for heat. "As the UK still faces challenges around Covid-19, during this exceptional time I expect suppliers to set their prices competitively, treat all customers fairly and ensure that any household in fi nancial distress is given access to the support they need." Ofgem CEO Jonathan Brearley announces a rise in the default tari‚ price cap from 1 April. "It's been a diffi cult year for so many people, and water companies throughout have been actively seeking out customers who might benefi t from extra support while continuing to deliver world class services and investing for the future." Christine McGourty, CEO, Water UK "With sustainability now at the top of the government's agenda, a mainstream concern in the home and a key driver in purchasing decisions, energy suppliers need to demonstrate their green credentials . But with many suppliers already providing green tariff s, this is no longer enough to diff erentiate companies." Rob Doepel, EY energy leader, UK and Ireland Quote, unquote

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