Ombudsman Services: Energy today publishes said energy company complaints increased to 65,168 in 2015 compared to 52,937 in 2014.

The ombudsman said: “The figures follow a turbulent year for the energy industry, with mounting consumer dissatisfaction, market investigations and Ofgem-imposed sanctions”

The largest area of disputes was billing issues, which accounted for 83 per cent of complaints. Nearly one in ten complaints were about issues related to switching supplier (9 per cent). The ombudsman can only investigate disputes between customers and energy suppliers that have been ongoing for eight weeks or more or those that have reached a deadlock.

However, the ombudsman said that the most recent figures imply energy companies are starting to show signs of improvement, with complaints in the last three months of the year falling to 10,896, compared to 15,370 in the same period in 2014, a decrease of 29 per cent.

From the archive: Big six still providing poor customer service, according to Which

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