British Gas is facing customer anger over energy bill struggles. The complaints ratio for Britain’s biggest energy supplier is almost three times higher than its rival Octopus Energy, the Guardian newspaper has today (January 3) reported.
Jonathan Hattersley, 66, from Cambridgeshire, is one of thousands of British Gas customers angry after loding one of the 400,000 complaints British Gas received in 2024. Months after moving, he contacted the firm to set up his account he had yet to receive a bill.
“Being an honest chap, I contacted them and got a whacking great bill, including from a period when I did not even live here,” he said. He was then hit with a £1,341.83 energy bill covering a little over seven months in his one-bedroom flat.
READ MORE All parts of England that WON’T see snow this weekend according to Met Office
“There are many emails I have going back and forth, with astonishing claims of my energy usage in my tiny flat,” he said. Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, said: “In our customer service last week, we answered the phone within 10 seconds. This time last year, it might have been seven minutes.
“So we’ve seen material improvements in our customer service. We’ve seen material improvements in our customer retention, but there’s still more for us to go for.” A spokesperson for British Gas said: “We know that there is more to do. We’ll continue to look at ways that we can further improve.”
Rocio Concha, a director at the consumer group Which?, says: “Despite British Gas’s recent customer service investment, our 2024 data suggests their customer service isn’t improving dramatically.” Concha added: “We’ve heard from scores of British Gas customers, with many saying they’ve struggled to get a quick response to their query and others with horror stories about costly billing issues.
“In an essential sector like energy, this is completely unacceptable. British Gas must ensure they are providing the service their customers deserve and are quickly and efficiently resolving complaints.”