Council energy provider beats 'Big Six' on customer satisfaction

Customers of Leeds City Council’s not-for-profit energy provider enjoy some of the best customer service in the country, according to a new Which? survey.

Which? Magazine’s annual satisfaction survey for the domestic energy supply market asked 8,000 people across the UK about their energy provider.

White Rose Energy’s customer service provider, Robin Hood Energy, came in second place for customer satisfaction—beating the ‘Big Six’ energy companies.

Robin Hood Energy, along with White Rose Energy and its other brands, supplies more than 125,000 homes and was rated as good or excellent against value for money, customer services, and bill accuracy by over 78% of those surveyed.

More information about White Rose Energy can be found at: https://www.whiteroseenergy.co.uk

Councillor James Lewis, Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Resources and Sustainability at Leeds City Council said:

“We’re delighted that our innovative partnership with Robin Hood Energy is benefiting residents in Leeds and the wider region.

“It’s wonderful news that White Rose Energy customers are getting such an exceptional level of service compared to what they might have received had they not switched.

“Residents can switch to the council’s competitively-priced, not-for-profit energy provider—safe in the knowledge that they are supporting an ethical partnership motivated by helping people and serving their needs rather than focusing on profits and shareholders.”

Gail Scholes, CEO at Robin Hood Energy said:

“We listened to customers and have worked hard to make sure our customers get the best service they can. We’ve really focused on our customer experience over the last year and worked to improve our scores by increasing staff numbers, focusing on training, process improvement and improving our online experience. We are also launching a new app in March that will further improve the customer experience.

“I am glad to see the work of all our staff and their commitment to serving customers has been recognised in the annual Which? Satisfaction Survey and that this is reflected in our scores and the feedback from our customers.

Five small suppliers topped the rankings, with only tiny margins separating first-placed Octopus Energy, Robin Hood Energy and So Energy in joint second place, and Ebico, who Robin Hood Energy also partner with to supply their energy.

The big six energy suppliers – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.On, Npower, Scottish Power, and SSE – all sit in the bottom third of the table, with none of the six receiving an overall customer score higher than 58 per cent, which was 20 percentage points lower than Robin Hood Energy.

Alex Neill, Which? Managing Director of Home Products and Services said:

“Our survey shows the importance of value for money and good customer service – energy suppliers delivering both to their customers tend to be thriving, while the Big Six and other poorly-ranked firms are paying the price for not giving customers what they want.

“All energy companies should be working to give their customers competitive prices and excellent customer service. If you’re not getting a good deal, you should look to switch, as you could potentially save over a hundred pounds and get a much improved service.”

ENDS

For media enquiries please contact:

Leeds City Council communications and marketing,

Email: communicationsteam@leeds.gov.uk

Tel: 0113 378 6007

Notes for Editors:

White Rose Energy (WRE) is a domestic energy supply brand, owned by Leeds City Council but operated as a ‘company’ – under licence – by Robin Hood Energy (RHE). RHE provides WRE’s call centre function and deals with all its customer queries, as well as billing, energy buying, and general industry compliance. WRE and RHE have the same ethos, which is to provide a high quality service whilst striving to be highly competitive and innovative as well. They are both not-for-profit ventures and are committed to keeping tariffs as low as they can for all customers and also, supporting separate fuel poverty alleviation projects wherever possible.