Top five common complaints in electricity and gas

Top five common complaints in electricity and gas remain constant

The number of complaints received in the 2014-15 year by the Office of the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commissioner (EGCC) was higher than the previous year. This year the office received 3655 complaints, a 77% increase in the number of complaints from 2013-14 (2070).

The results are in the 2014-15 Annual Report presented at the Annual Meeting today.

47% of complaints were related to billing. This was the most common complaint, followed by customer service with 26% of the total complaints. Other common complaints were issues with meters, supply and disconnection. There has been no change to the top five issues for complaints in the past three years.

“The Office met the challenge of dealing with an increase in workload while maintaining value to complainants and member companies,” Hon Heather Roy, EGCC Chairperson said today.

The increase in work was largely due to a member moving to a new billing platform although cases were also higher across the remaining membership than the previous year. This also impacted on the number of complainants being advised about the EGCC service when they originally made a complaint. This is a performance indicator relating to member compliance of the Scheme and awareness of the Scheme within the wider community.

“The standout characteristic of the year was dealing with an unexpectedly steep increase in workload. The resilience and capability of the office allowed us to work through this peak. We also worked with an increasingly diverse membership and continued to look for ways to improve what we do,” Acting Commissioner Nanette Moreau said.

This year the EGCC welcomed 28 new members into the Scheme. The decision of the Minister of Consumer Affairs to limit exemptions from EGCC membership, to only suppliers of LPG in cylinders under 15kg, has meant an increasing and diverse group of members.

The EGCC’s independent service is free for complainants to use.

The year in numbers (last year’s results in brackets)

• 4401 enquiries (4387)

• 3655 complaints (2070)

• 47.2% of complaints about billing (43%)

• 25% of complainants told about the EGCC by members when they make a complaint (74%) Note: this statistic is explained above where one member made an impact on the workload of the office resulting also on the performance standard

• 85% of complainants satisfied with EGCC process (77%)

ENDS

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