Why energy suppliers need to keep their customer phone services
These aren’t just phonelines, to many they’re a lifeline
The first thing a lot of us do when we have a problem with our energy supplier is pick up the phone and give them a ring. But as the energy market grows, some new suppliers are offering online-only services, for example Pure Planet and Lumo.
Companies like these use online channels such as forums, emails or instant messengers for their customer service. They don’t have a telephone number for people to use — but may call people directly when they think this is needed.
Similar services already exist, successfully, in some other sectors. giffgaff, a mobile network, has no telephone line, and this approach is also common for online retailers such as ASOS and Spotify.
But energy is an essential for life service. We’re concerned that companies without a telephone line are putting their customers at risk — particularly those in vulnerable circumstances or in emergencies.
What’s the problem?
Data we collected last year from the 24 largest energy suppliers shows that people are more likely to call their supplier than reach out to them in another way. Even the supplier with the fewest telephone contacts still received 30% of their customer contacts this way.
However, some people clearly prefer to use other contact methods, at least some of the time. We think the popularity of these methods will increase over time, as technology improves and as suppliers seek to reduce expensive call centre costs.
Suppliers are already evolving the range of services they offer — and sometimes differentiating these based on price. For example, Ovo recently announced a discount scheme for people who agree to self-serve their account, but with exceptions made if they need to get in touch to complain or in an emergency.
Online-only suppliers are attempting an even more transformative change in the customer service experience by removing inbound telephone services altogether. We’re concerned that these business models could put some people at risk for a number of reasons.
1. Some people need more help than others
People’s needs change over time. Someone could choose an online-only service only for their circumstances to change, making them less able to use the internet.
People in vulnerable circumstances might want to talk on the phone about more complex or personal issues, while people with low levels of literacy, or for who English isn’t their first language, may struggle to submit complaints by email.
2. Prepayment customers might need to get in touch more urgently
Our research shows 16% of people with prepayment meters run out of credit and disconnect at least once a year. When this happens people may need to contact their supplier urgently. In financial emergencies people often don’t have access to the internet.
The Extra Help Unit, our service for vulnerable consumers, has already helped people who were disconnected and struggled to get in touch with online-only suppliers. In one of these cases, a person was off supply for 4 days, before being reconnected after the Extra Help Unit’s intervention.
3. Some people don’t choose their supplier
When someone moves into a property, they inherit their supplier from the person who lived there before. And some people who rent have their supplier chosen for them by their landlord.
Suppliers need to make sure they meet the needs of everyone they supply — and for some of them an online-only service will not be appropriate.
4. It could exclude some people from getting a good deal that meets their needs
Suppliers have a duty to offer supply to all domestic customers, so they don’t ‘cherry-pick’ their customers and avoid vulnerable people who might need more help.
But in practice, offering services through online channels only will reduce access. 5 million people in the UK have never used the internet, and many more struggle to use digital services at times. But to be a customer at Pure Planet, for example, you need a smartphone or tablet, access to the internet and the ability to manage your account without telephone support.
If more suppliers replicate an online-only approach then these people will have fewer options in the market that meet their needs. We’ve written before that we think it’s important for people to be able to choose offline services without facing significantly higher costs.
What do the rules say?
The energy regulator, Ofgem, has Standards of Conduct which say suppliers must make it easy for customers to contact them. They must also take steps to identify vulnerable customers and take account of their vulnerability.
In 2015 Ofgem published an open letter which said that “telephone services should be accessible to all consumers, including those with special communication needs”. And there are regulations about complaints-handling which say that suppliers have to allow people to make and progress complaints by telephone.
Suppliers also need a telephone line to enable us at Citizens Advice to help our clients.
We run the consumer service helpline, which gives people specialist advice about energy and other issues. One way we help resolve more tricky problems is to do a ‘warm transfer’ of people to their supplier if a caller has been struggling to get their problem resolved. Without a supplier phone line we’re concerned this customer journey will become disjointed.
We want the regulator to set clear expectations and plan for the future
It seems fairly clear to us that the current rules mean all suppliers should have a telephone line that people can use for at least some actions, like making a complaint. We also think that these services currently offer the safest service for people, especially vulnerable people and those using prepayment.
We’ve shared evidence with the regulator that some people have been put at risk by online-only services. We’ve asked them to make clear if their view of telephone services has changed — and if so, to set out what kind of telephone services they think a supplier needs to have to protect their customers and follow the rules. We also think they should consider whether a growth in online-only services could exclude offline consumers from getting a good deal.
We understand that people’s preferences are changing and that telephone contacts are likely to reduce over time. But while many people still rely on telephone contact, especially in emergency situations, it’s too early to remove these services.
