Yahoo Finance Energy watchdog Ofgem bans supplier Iresa from taking on new customers
Energy watchdog Ofgem has banned supplier Iresa from taking on new customers until it resolves a series of service issues.
Ofgem said the firm would also be prevented from increasing existing customers’ direct debits while the issues are tackled.
The ban will last an initial three months, said the regulator.
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Iresa – one of scores of new, smaller energy suppliers to join the market in recent years – was pulled up on a number of customer service areas.
Specifically, said Ofgem, it needs to extend call centre hours, bring down average call waiting times to below five minutes, and respond to customers who request a call back by the end of the next working day.
If Iresa fails to take these steps within the next three months, Ofgem could take further action which could include, ultimately, revoking the supplier’s licence.
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The watchdog added it is had taken action “due to the substantial information it has received suggesting that Iresa’s customer service failings risk causing its customers immediate harm”.
Dermot Nolan, chief executive of Ofgem, said: “This order sends out a very clear message to suppliers that where they fail their customers on service, Ofgem will step in and take strong action.
“It’s crucial that all suppliers provide customers with good service, including acting quickly and effectively to sort things out wherever problems occur.
“Iresa now needs to act quickly and put its house in order otherwise ultimately its licence could be revoked.”
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Other areas identified in need of urgent attention are:
responding to customer emails within 5 working days
clearing a backlog of consumer emails
logging and recording all expressions of customer dissatisfaction
acting to manage and identify all of its vulnerable customers, including offering to put them on a priority services register
This is Iresa’s second ban on new business. It stopped taking new customers temporarily in early 2016, after Ofgem found that customers were having trouble getting in touch with the energy provider.
Iresa said it was working to fix the issues, adding: “We are confident that our customers will see a noticeable improvement in our customer service response times and we apologise to customers who we have let down in the past.
“We are committed to improving our quality of service to deliver a much better customer experience.”
The number of energy suppliers in the UK market has shot up in recent years, bringing consumers greater choice but also presenting the watchdog with a real challenge to keep abreast of customer service quality.
In December 2006, there were fewer than 10 suppliers for gas and electricity – now there 55 dual fuel suppliers, with another 11 companies offering one or the other.
