British Gas is named worst energy supplier for customer service
British Gas has again emerged as Britain’s worst energy supplier for customer service after a slide in satisfaction over the last six months, figures from a leading consumer group reveal,A Which? report shared with the Guardian found that the service offered by British Gas has worsened across all its satisfaction measures since its last analysis of the energy sector last year,While customer service has broadly improved across the industry, it has declined for customers of British Gas, according to the survey of 4,000 adults across the country,Rocio Concha, a policy director at Which?, said: “It is never OK for firms to provide sub-standard customer service, but in an essential sector like energy, which provides vital services millions rely on every day, it is unacceptable,“British Gas and any other firms falling short need to up their game and give customers the service they deserve.
They must focus on ensuring that calls and emails are answered promptly and that customers are being provided with helpful advice and support,”The findings come weeks after the supplier was toppled from its position as Britain’s biggest energy supplier for the first time in 40 years, losing out to Octopus Energy,The chief executive of British Gas’s parent company, Centrica, said last week that the ousting should “galvanise” its staff to focus on customer service,Chris O’Shea said: “What I look at, on a daily basis, is how quickly they’ve answered the phones for our customers, what is our complaint rate, what is the price we have given our customers, what is the service they’ve been given? That will continue to be my obsession,”The Which? survey found that more than half of people who had contacted British Gas for help reported a problem with the response they received, and a third were dissatisfied with how long it took to get in touch with a person who could help.
Once customers did get through to the supplier the survey showed that 15% reported speaking to unhelpful or dismissive advisers and 14% said they were not given good advice or support.“These sentiments are extremely concerning, as they show that British Gas customers are facing issues both at the start of their customer service journey and are often left without a satisfactory resolution,” Which? said.A spokesperson for British Gas said the findings were “at odds with the latest customer satisfaction findings published by organisations including the industry regulator Ofgem, Citizen’s Advice and Uswitch”.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionThey added: “These independent studies have all confirmed that we are going in the right direction, and our customer service is improving, with the number of complaints down and call wait times cut by 60% compared to 2023.Delivering the best possible service to our customers continues to be a top priority for British Gas.
”British Gas was found to be one of the industry’s worst for customer service in Which?’s previous report in May last year, alongside Scottish Power.The latest survey, in November, showed greater satisfaction among Scottish Power customers, “demonstrating that it is possible to improve customer satisfaction in a short period of time”.It found that 71% of Scottish Power customers who contacted the supplier were satisfied with the service they received and 14% were dissatisfied, giving a net satisfaction score of +56.That is an 18-point improvement from six months prior, according to Which?, which puts the supplier in line with the industry average.
Sellafield nuclear site plans cuts as chief says £2.8bn funding ‘not enough’
Sellafield has said nearly £3bn in new funding is “not enough” and bosses are now examining swingeing cuts, prompting fears over jobs and safety at the vast nuclear waste dump.The Cumbrian nuclear site, which is home to the world’s largest store of plutonium, was last week awarded £2.8bn for the next financial year, the bulk of the total of just over £4bn funds allotted to the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, a taxpayer-owned and funded quango.Sellafield’s chief executive, Euan Hutton, has told staff that the funding was “not enough” to carry out planned works, leaving bosses to make “difficult decisions” over spending, sources told the Guardian.A spokesperson for Sellafield said: “While this is significant funding, it will not be enough for all our planned activities
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Nearly 200,000 Canadians sign petition to revoke Musk’s citizenship
About 200,000 people from Canada have signed a parliamentary petition calling for their country to strip Elon Musk’s Canadian citizenship because of the tech billionaire’s alliance with Donald Trump, who has spent his second US presidency repeatedly threatening to conquer its independent neighbor to the north and turn it into its 51st state.The British Columbia author Qualia Reed launched the petition in Canada’s House of Commons, where it was sponsored by New Democrat parliamentary member and avowed Musk critic Charlie Angus, as the Canadian Press first reported over the weekend.Born in South Africa and owning US companies including electric vehicle-maker Tesla, aerospace company SpaceX and the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Musk has Canadian citizenship through his mother: model and dietitian Maye Musk, who is from Saskatchewan’s capital, Regina. He has been crusading to slash the US federal government’s size at the behest of the US president, who has consistently challenged Canada’s sovereignty since returning to the White House for a second presidential term on 20 January.Reed’s petition – filed on 20 February – accuses Musk of having “engaged in activities that go against the national interest of Canada” by acting as an adviser to Trump
Telegram fined nearly $1m by Australian watchdog for delay in reporting about terrorism and child abuse material
Encrypted messaging app Telegram has been fined nearly $1m by Australia’s online safety regulator for failing to respond on time to questions about what the company does to tackle terrorism and child abuse material on its platform.The notice was issued to Telegram, among other companies, in May last year, with a deadline to report back in October on steps taken to address terrorist and violent extremism material, as well as child exploitation material on its platform.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news emailBecause Telegram failed to respond for nearly 160 days, eSafety has issued an infringement notice to the company for A$957,780.“If we want accountability from the tech industry we need much greater transparency. These powers give us a look under the hood at just how these platforms are dealing, or not dealing, with a range of serious and egregious online harms which affect Australians,” the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said in a statement
Blow to British hopes as injury forces Emile Cairess out of London Marathon
Emile Cairess’s hopes of becoming the fastest British runner over 26.2 miles have been put on hold after he was forced to pull out of the London Marathon with an ankle injury.Cairess, who finished third in the race last year before coming fourth in the Paris Olympics, had been targeting Mo Farah’s national record of 2hr 5min 11sec. However, he will now miss April’s race due to an ongoing ankle tendon issue.“I was really looking forward to racing the world’s best marathon runners and to build on the progress I have made over the marathon distance,” the 27-year-old athlete said
Prop Will Stuart has become the cornerstone of England’s scrum
‘I’ve just tried to keep my head down and do my job,’ says the Bath tighthead after seeing off Scotland in Calcutta CupNot all heroes wear capes and Will Stuart is not the type you would expect to see in shining armour, but the time has come to recognise England’s unsung tighthead prop. Crisis? What crisis? It was not so long ago that the Rugby Football Union was wringing its hands at the dearth of tightheads across the country but quietly, under the radar, Stuart has emerged as England’s most consistent, reliable performer.During Steve Borthwick’s first Six Nations in charge two years ago, he lamented that England were “not good at anything” and raised particular concern over the scrum, an area in which they had ranked last of all tier-one nations over the previous 12 months. Fast-forward to now and, under the tutelage of Tom Harrison, England’s scrum has developed into both a solid platform and a weapon they can employ to impressive effect.On Saturday, Stuart was perhaps England’s best player, leading the rearguard action even when he lost a boot for a lengthy defensive set and as part of a scrum that put the squeeze on Scotland
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