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Outfox the Market tops energy survey

Emma Lunn
Written By:
Emma Lunn
Posted:
Updated:
25/01/2021

The upstart supplier triumphed in Which?’s annual energy satisfaction survey, knocking Octopus Energy off the top spot.

Major players in the energy market – British Gas, EDF Energy, Eon, Npower, Scottish Power and SSE – made up six of the bottom eight energy firms.

Which? surveyed more than 8,000 people in September 2020 about their experiences with their energy provider across a range of categories such as bill accuracy, customer service, complaints handling and value for money.

Outfox the Market, which was founded in 2017, finished at the top of the table, rising from 19th position last year.

The small energy provider frequently offers some of the cheapest deals on the market and received an impressive customer score of 82%, with five-star ratings for billing accuracy and value for money.

It had the highest proportion of customers (93%) that didn’t experience any issues in the past 12 months.

Octopus Energy was second in this year’s satisfaction survey with an 80% customer score – it had topped the table for the past two years.

Octopus achieved a five-star rating for bill accuracy and four stars for bill clarity, customer service, complaints handling and value for money.

Avro Energy rounded off the top three firms, with a 76% customer score. The challenger firm finished in 16th place last year but has made improvements and almost nine in 10 (89%) of its customers said they’ve had no issues in the past 12 months. It received a five-star rating for bill accuracy and four-stars for all other categories including customer service and value for money.

Also among the top energy companies were People’s Energy, Pure Planet, So Energy and Utility Warehouse.

Which? found that the former big six energy firms – British Gas, EDF Energy, Eon, Npower, Scottish Power and SSE – continued to score below average for customer satisfaction survey.

Npower was the lowest-ranked energy provider with a customer score of just 54%. While it received three stars for bill accuracy and customer service, customer feedback meant it got two stars for bill clarity and complaints handling and just a one-star rating for value for money.

Scottish Power finished second from bottom with a customer score of 55%. It also received a one-star rating for value for money, and just two stars for bill clarity, customer service and complaints handling.

Natalie Hitchins, head of home products and services at Which?, said: “Year after year, challenger and small energy companies outperform the traditional providers in our satisfaction survey – delivering better customer service and offering excellent value for money.

“There are impressive energy companies, from small firms such as Outfox the Market to rapidly expanding companies like Octopus Energy, so customers do not have to put up with substandard service from any provider.”