Energy Providers

Energy Providers

As most people who have tried to contact their energy provider will know, speaking to a human being is often a rare occurrence and talking to a machine can be both unhelpful and frustrating. In some cases, speaking to a pre-recorded tape is the only way you can contact an energy supplier, but in most cases each company has a number which directs straight to a human operator. This is often achieved by pressing button combinations on the phone, or simply waiting until all options on a menu are eventually exhausted.

What is also frustrating is that the calls are charged at incredibly high rates, with long waiting times often resulting in paying customers forking out £3-4 for an hour long call.

It is evident why a lot of people experience “phone rage” when speaking to their energy supplier. Long waiting times coupled with talking to a machine can have a lot of people pulling their hair out in anger, which raises the question why many large companies deal with customer queries this way.

The first reason for using an automated system is to filter customer calls to the correct departments. If you have a question about your bill, someone from the sales department isn’t going to be able to resolve your problem, so making sure you go to the right person is essential for the customer experience.

Secondly, cutting back on the number of “real” phone staff saves the company money, especially when one set of recordings can cover the vast majority of customer’s problems.

As mentioned, in some cases it is unavoidable when speaking to an automated response system, but there are ways around it.

Below is a list of the UK’s largest energy suppliers complete with phone numbers that will get you through to a human being.

Eon

Tel: 08450520000

Website: http://www.eonenergy.com/

npower

Tel: 08451663360

Website: http://www.npower.com/

British Gas

Tel: 08000480202

Website: http://www.britishgas.co.uk/

Scottish Power

Tel: 08452727999

Website: http://www.scottishpower.com/

EDF Energy

Tel: 0800 096 9000

Website: http://www.edfenergy.com/