British Gas sits among the lowest-ranked energy suppliers in the UK in terms of customer satisfaction, according to Which?, the consumer group.
Centrica PLC (LSE:CNA)-owned British Gas was granted two out of five stars for its communication to customers over energy costs and value for money in an annual Which? survey on Friday.
“British Gas remains the biggest energy supplier in Great Britain, but its customers' feedback resulted in mediocre scores across the board,” the group said.
“It didn't score well when we looked at its customer service set-up or complaints handling in our behind-the-scenes assessment either."
“[British Gas] has since increased its customer service opening hours,” Which? noted, however.
Octopus Energy was rated most highly on the separate rating for customer service, scoring five stars compared to British Gas’ three.
This secured the supplier another term as a Which? recommended firm, with Ecotricity and E (Gas & Electricity) also gaining the title and becoming the first to join Octopus in getting the backing of the consumer group in six years.
Which? called on suppliers across the board to do more to help customers though, including by offering better ways to access support.
“It is clear that waiting times need to be cut, customers should be getting better help with their queries and businesses need stronger incentives to up their game,” Which? said.
“Many of the big energy firms fared poorly in our customer survey.
“There was little to separate British Gas' customer score from Boost, Scottish Scottish Power, Ovo Energy, Shell Energy, EDF Energy and Eon Next.”
A spokesperson for Centrica pointed out that it was Which?'s subjective assessment that pushed British Gas down the rankings, adding that data for the survey was "up to a year old".
"We appreciate all customer feedback and can confirm the issues [...] were resolved," they added.