SCOTTISHPower has been warned over its "unacceptable" consumer care record by the energy services regulator - five months after receiving an £18 million fine for customer service failures.
The Glasgow-based firm was again ranked amongst the worst in a biennial survey by Ofgem into the customer service of Britain's biggest energy suppliers.
ScottishPower and npower both recorded the highest proportion by far of "very dissatisfied" complainants in the biennial poll which found the number of energy complaints had halved since 2014 but that customers were less satisfied with how suppliers were handling problems.
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The regulator found that 64 per cent of consumers were "very dissatisfied" with how ScottishPower dealt with complaints - up from 50 per cent two years ago. Only npower faring worst with 67 per cent "very dissatisfied" - up from 43 per cent in 2014.
When ScottishPower was fined £18 million by Ofgem in April for customer service failures it was criticised for "unacceptably long call waiting times", and received over one million complaints between June 2013 and December 2015.
Ofgem said the fine was due to in part to failures in complaint handling and resolution and followed an enforcement investigation.
Ofgem chief executive Dermot Nolan has written to all suppliers surveyed to demand an improvement - and warned Scottish Power of possible future enforcement action.
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He told Scottish Power: "Simply put the results are unacceptable. The overall level of satisfaction, which had fallen from the 2012 to 2014 waves, has dropped again and the percentage of consumers having a different view to their supplier on the status of their complaint has only marginally improved.
"The survey shows that your results are again poor, with only 13 percent of those surveyed stating they were satisfied with how their complaint was handled."
He said he wanted the firm to respond publicly to his warning updating on how they were going to give consumers a better experience following the findings from the investigation.
He said Scottish Power ranked worst out of the biggest nine energy firms on how easy it was to register a complaint.
"I stress that, in future surveys, should we not see an improvement in your performance we will consider taking further enforcement action against Scottish Power," Mr Nolan warned.
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Those who fared best out of the nine - Perth-based SSE, E.ON and EDF - failed to show any significant improvement in overall complaint handling since 2014.
Just over half of all complainants (52 percent) had or were planning to switch as a result of their experience, compared with 44 percent of domestic complainants and 47 percent among micro-businesses in 2014.
A majority of npower and Scottish Power domestic customers who complained - 71 percent and 59 percent respectively - said they had or were planning to switch as a result of their experience.
Only about a third of those surveyed were given a named contact at their supplier and did not always receive a follow-up at the agreed time.
At the end of the process, 42% of complainants whose case had been closed by the supplier thought it remained unresolved.
When ScottishPower, part of the Spain-based Iberdola Group was rated amongst the worst energy suppliers for consumer satisfaction levels in January last year through a Which? consumer study, the firm said that in 2014 it had migrated all customer accounts were migrated on to a new £200 million customer service IT system, and that although it believed it would deliver real benefits in the long-term, the installation process was challenging.
Eight months later, when it was ranked bottom for customer care in another Which? survey, it reiterated the issues with its IT system and said it had recruited 500 additional customer advisers to call centres which had improved its response to queries.
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In June, a Citizens Advice study found the firm was rated one of the worst energy suppliers in the UK for complaints.
In response to the latest survey, ScottishPower said: “We welcome today’s report that is based on surveys conducted over the last two years. As Ofgem acknowledges the survey sample for the report was taken before the end of last year’s enforcement investigation against ScottishPower and Ofgem is not asking the company to undertake further action beyond what has been previously agreed.
“ScottishPower has worked well with Ofgem throughout the recent investigation and is totally committed to constantly improving services for customers”.
Citizens Advice Scotland energy spokesman Craig Salter said: “People rely on their energy supplier to provide a specific service, and failure to provide good standards of customer service can have a real impact on the lives of many customers.
"Yet we still see far too many consumers throughout Scotland dissatisfied with how their complaints are handled. Energy suppliers need to ensure that they learn from their mistakes and improve their complaints handling processes.”
Consumers minister Margot James said: "Poor customer service can erode trust and cause unnecessary stress for bill payers.
"It's great to see that the number of complaints has fallen, but all energy suppliers should be treating their customers fairly and ensuring that any complaints are suitably addressed.
"If they don't, research shows that over half of their customers will switch to a different supplier."
Chief ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith said: "Though energy suppliers are taking steps in the right direction, their signposting - both in clarity and timeliness - is still letting consumers down.
"Providers are obligated to signpost customers to the energy ombudsman if they are unable to resolve their complaint, yet less than half received a referral letter."
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