A new Which? survey has found that energy and broadband UK customers have lost an estimated £298 million and 27.3 million hours to poor customer service.
In the past year, 45% of respondents had contacted their broadband supplier, and 42% had contacted their energy provider. Of these, two in five report an issue in how long it took to reach a customer service representative, or even come to a satisfactory resolution.
Of those who had contacted their energy provider, a third said this had left them financially worse off by an average of £137 in the past year.
For broadband customers, a third were left an average of £93 worse off.
Overall, Which? estimated that as a result of poor customer service and unresolved problems, last year 1.2 million energy customers were £166 million worse off and 950,000 broadband customers were £89 million worse off.
“It is never OK for firms to provide sub-standard customer service, but in essential sectors providing vital services millions rely on every day such as energy and broadband, it is completely unacceptable,” says Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy.
On average, energy customers also spent 112 minutes of their time due to customer service problems and broadband customers spent an average of 98 minutes.
The research highlights the frustrations that customers of these essential service providers are experiencing, especially at a time of strained financial difficulty where UK citizens are still looking to save where they can.
More than a half of respondents who’d experienced at least one customer service problem reported feeling frustrated. Around a quarter felt angry, and a fifth reported feeling helpless. Others said they were irritated, stressed and anxious.