E.ON Next fined £5m for customer service failings
E.ON Next Energy has been fined £5m by the UK industry regulator for “severe weakness” in customer service, it was announced on Wednesday.
The penalty was prompted by a number of so-called “deep dive” reviews of energy suppliers that Ofgem carried out in 2022.
One, which was focused on customer service and complaints, unearthed “severe weaknesses” at E.ON Next, Ofgem said, notably in relation to excessive call waiting times and high abandoned call rates.
Customer services had struggled to copy with demand between October and December 2022 in particular, leaving many customers on hold for 18 minutes on average. A total of 50% of customer calls were unable to successfully contact the supplier.
In total, it is thought that more than 500,000 customers were affected.
Cathryn Scott, director of enforcement and emerging issues at Ofgem, said: “The very least that a customer should expect of their supplier is for them to pick up the phone to them in a timely way.
“The levels of service that we discovered at E.ON Next during the period of review were unacceptable.”
E.ON Next – which is owned by Germany's E.ON Group – will automatically compensate the affected customers, with most receiving £8, totalling £4m. The remaining £1m will be paid into Ofgem’s Voluntary Redress Fund, which helps support vulnerable customers.
Ofgem also issued a provisional order requiring immediate improvements to E.ON Next’s call response rate, which it said had already helped reduce waiting times and the dropped call rate.
Ofgem added that it has continued to monitor the supplier to ensure the changes required under the order are implemented and sustained.
An E.ON spokesperson said: “We had invested in improving our services even before Ofgem began its review.
“We won’t shy away from the fact that we weren’t at our best, but we’re heartened Ofgem recognises our efforts and our success in improving service levels. We hit our agreed targets with Ofgem on day one and we’ve stayed there ever since.”