Industry NewsUK energy regulator, Ofgem, has fined British Gas (BG) 2.5 million pound for the way it has dealt with customer complaints. The company feels the regulator has overreacted, but has admitted that its services to small businesses do need to be improved.
Ofgem's fine relates to claims BG did not reopen complaints when customers felt that the issue had not been settled. In addition, BG reportedly did not provide end-users advice on who to contact if the problems could be resolved. Finally, the generally process of dealing with micro businesses complaints were deemed to be inadequate. According to Ofgem, this put BG in breach of its regulatory standards. The investigation had begun in June 2010, and Ofgem acknowledge that since then services have now become compliant. The regulator has indicated it is looking at other suppliers for similar breaches.
Regarding the fine, Sarah Harrison, Ofgem's Senior Partner for Sustainable Development, commented, "Today's finding highlights basic failures in British Gas' customer service, particularly in dealing with some of its small business customers, and shows Ofgem's commitment to use its powers to ensure suppliers treat customers fairly and transparently." She added, "We warned the industry in March that we would be backing up our plans to reform the retail market with a tough approach to enforcement."
A spokesman for British Gas responded, "Recently, Consumer Focus put us at the top of its league for complaints handling with a four-star rating...Therefore Ofgem's finding us in breach on a minor point when we have 16 million accounts, is, we feel, totally disproportionate to the issue."