Ofgem publishes new customer services standards for energy suppliers

Ofgem published new customer services standards for energy suppliers on 18 October 2023, setting out rules suppliers must abide by when customers contact them and for supporting those who may be struggling with their bills over the winter¹.

Fair By Design, an independent organisation, responded to the publication the same day. Its head of policy, Maria Booker, said:

"Last winter, there were too many stories of people whose struggle to pay their energy bills was compounded by their struggle to get through to their energy company. All energy suppliers should now be clear about the consumer standards expected of them, particularly when it comes to serving consumers who are in a vulnerable situation. The lack of Government action on making energy bills more affordable this winter and in the longer term has been disappointing. We urge energy companies to step up and support the many customers who are going to need their help over the next few months."

Fair By Design, source¹

The standards cover how suppliers handle customer contact and how they support customers who may be struggling with bills¹. The full publication is held by Ofgem¹.

Fair By Design's response also refers to wider energy costs. It states that from 1 July the energy price cap will rise by £221, or 13%, and that after that price cap kicks in the standard credit premium will be £135 per year¹. Those figures appear in the organisation's related posts rather than in its response to the standards themselves, and the year they apply to is not stated in the text¹. Rachel Reeves has committed to fully fund the Warm Homes Plan, according to a separate Fair By Design post¹.

The rules sit alongside the wider consumer protection framework that governs how firms treat customers, including the Treating Customers Fairly rules that preceded the Consumer Duty, and the financial regulation framework that determines how regulators such as Ofgem make and enforce rules.

Why it matters for households

The standards apply to energy suppliers and cover two things that affect household money directly: how quickly and how well a supplier deals with customers who contact it, and what support is offered to customers who are behind or struggling with bills¹. Households in vulnerable situations are specifically named as a group the standards address¹.

The timing matters because the standards were published on 18 October 2023, ahead of the winter period, when energy use and bills typically rise¹. Fair By Design's response frames the rules as a response to problems customers had experienced the previous winter, when difficulty paying bills was compounded by difficulty reaching the supplier¹.

The response also points to affordability pressures beyond supplier conduct. It cites a £221, or 13%, rise in the energy price cap from 1 July and a standard credit premium of £135 per year once that cap takes effect¹. Standard credit is the payment method where a household pays after receiving a bill rather than by direct debit, and the premium is the amount that method costs above the alternative¹. The text does not state which year those figures relate to¹.

What happens next

The standards took effect for suppliers following publication on 18 October 2023¹. No further dates for implementation, monitoring or enforcement are given in the available material, and no timetable for reviewing the standards has been reported¹.

Sources1 cited