British Gas is announcing changes that will increase transparency around its complaints data, and is calling on all other energy suppliers to follow its lead as soon as possible. The aim is to ensure that customers can accurately compare levels of customer service between energy suppliers for the first time.

Energy suppliers are currently required to publish an annual customer complaints report on their websites by 31 October each year. However, there is currently no agreed format for complaints reporting in the energy retail sector, other than the total number of complaints that a supplier was unable to resolve on the same day or by the next working day.

In addition to reporting the number of complaints unresolved on the first or following day, British Gas is now publishing a quarterly update, which includes:

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•Complaint volumes per 100,000 domestic energy customer accounts

•The percentage of complaints resolved on the same or next working day

•The percentage of complaints resolved within eight weeks

•The volume of complaints accepted by the Ombudsman Services: Energy

British Gas is also publishing the five main reasons customers have complained during the quarter, and has set out clear actions it is taking to tackle the issues behind those complaints.

British Gas is making changes to its complaints data reporting in response to research the company undertook, which showed 90 per cent of customers want a simple, consistent method of comparing energy supplier complaints data.

Ian Peters, Managing Director of Residential Energy at British Gas, said: "Energy customers want to be able to compare energy suppliers on service as well as price. Simple, easy to compare information helps customers make an informed choice about their energy supplier. British Gas has set out a clear way of reporting complaints data. We are calling on all energy suppliers to adopt the same standard so that customers can, for the first time, make a meaningful comparison of customer service levels."

(CD/IT)