Thousands of customers are still waiting to get their credit back after their energy supplier went bust.
That’s according to a new survey by MoneySavingExpert which shows that nearly 20% of those who were moved to a Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) in September and October last year said they had not received yet their credit balance back.
The poll of 12,000 people also suggests nine-in-ten customers who were transferred to British Gas after the failure of PFP Energy and People’s Energy said they had been waiting more than four months to get their credit back.
When asked about the overall transfer experience, 58% of customers who were moved to British Gas rated it as “poor”.
The same “poor” experience was reported by 41% of customers with Shell Energy and 40% with EDF, according to the findings of the survey.
A British Gas spokesperson told ELN: “Since August 2021 around four million customers have been left without an energy company due to the multiple supplier failures in the energy market.
“As a responsible business, in the last six months we’ve stepped in to take over the energy supply of over 700,000 customers from eight different failed suppliers, this is the largest proportion across the industry in terms of number of customers and in terms of number of failed suppliers.
“Unfortunately, each of these suppliers has its own process in terms of how they share data, including around credit balances and we are reliant on their processes.
“In some instances, this has taken longer than we would have liked and we appreciate this is unsettling for customers. The majority of credit balances have now either been applied or will be shortly, and we have been in touch with individual customers where there has been a delay.”
An EDF spokesperson told ELN: “We pride ourselves on delivering a high level of customer service and have maintained our spot in the top three energy suppliers in Citizens Advice’s customer service league table.
“In 2021, Ofgem appointed EDF to protect over 600,000 customers, more than any other supplier, and when taking on customers of failed suppliers, we work really hard to ensure the transition is as seamless as possible and prioritise customer experience.
“From the outset of a SoLR we ensure that the customer is reassured and kept updated via our communications, dedicated website and FAQs.
“We do understand customer’s frustrations when going through the supplier of last resort process and we know this is a worrying time for customers with wholesale energy costs at an all-time high. We continue to offer support to customers in need.”
A Shell Energy spokesperson told ELN: “Shell Energy has taken over the accounts of half a million customers from five failed energy suppliers, presenting the unique challenge of dealing with five different sets of administrators.
“While we recognise it may have felt frustrating at times for customers, our teams have worked tirelessly to make these transfers as painless and as quick as possible. Our focus was on reconciling the data to ensure that we give customers the right information regarding credit balances. In some cases this took longer than we’d have liked.
“Almost all customers who joined us via SoLR are fully set up as Shell Energy customers, but we recognise that for some customers this has been a frustrating journey as they waited to receive their credit balance and we are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.
“We would like to assure our customers that despite any short-term challenges related to onboarding, they can be confident they are now with an enduring supplier with the ability and appetite to be a key part of the UK energy landscape for decades to come.”
An Ofgem spokesperson said: “Over the last six months, Ofgem’s safety net has protected over two million customers after their supplier exited the market, ensuring they have been transferred to a new SoLR, their energy supply continues and household credit balances are protected.
“We expect SoLR suppliers to proactively help onboard their new customers, and to ensure that these customers are able to reach them using normal channels.
“We are engaging with each SoLR and monitoring their progress in a number of areas – contacting customers, issuing bills, refunding credit balances where appropriate, and also customer engagement and complaints.
“Where there are delays or issues in any of these areas, we are engaging with suppliers to improve their performance.
“Ofgem acknowledges that any delay in recovering credit balances can be frustrating. Many of these delays relate to data not being passed on by administrators by SoLRs so they can generate accurate account balances for their new customers.
“We have been working with suppliers and administrators to resolve these issues and we expect most refunds of credit balances which have been affected by this issue to be completed soon.”
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