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Energy firms get a roasting
31.10.08
Customer dissatisfaction with gas and electricity suppliers has rocketed after a year of price rises, a survey by price-comparison site uSwitch has found.
A survey of 5465 customers found 41% are unhappy with the service offered by the UK's six biggest energy suppliers Scottish Power, British Gas, npower, EDF, Scottish and Southern and Eon.
The number of disappointed customers has risen across the board, but Scottish and Southern Energy is top of the satisfaction survey and npower bottom. Homeowners' average gas and electricity bills have risen 38% over the past year, and only 45% of the survey's respondents believe that their energy companies have provided fair value for money.
"Price rises were never going to be a vote winner, but this year's increases have hit people exceptionally hard, and inevitably it has damaged their perception of the industry," said uSwitch spokeswoman Ann Robinson.
