According to the Energy Ombudsman Queensland (EOC),
consumer complaints have nearly doubled in the
past year. The EOQ dealt with over 13,000 complaints regarding Queenslanders
energy suppliers in the last financial year 2008-09, with
complaints surrounding account issues making up nearly 70% of the
total complaints dealt with.
Consumers are concerned about the accuracy of bills, delays in
receiving bill, and sometimes not even receiving their energy bills
at all. This results in both residential customers and small
businesses receiving significantly higher bills only once or twice
a year, making them practically unaffordable.
Make It Cheaper
says: "If you're a small business or residential customer
struggling to pay your bills, speak to your supplier, and agree a
payment plan that will stagger your payments over a period of time,
rather than having to fork out one large lump sum."
Since deregulation in 2007 electricity and gas prices in
Queensland have risen by 40%, coupling this with poor
service, customers will start to wonder whether deregulation of the
energy market is going to bring any benefits. The Queensland
governments opposition are making this point strongly to the
current government - the likely response will simply be that price
increases were going to happen anyway, but suppliers need to shape
up and start delivering the sort of service that customers
deserve.
The EOQ have highlighted that consumers are finding their energy
bills increasingly hard to understand, with complicated terms and
conditions and inaccurate billing information - this inevitably
makes choosing a new supplier with cheaper rates and improved
service very difficult for energy customers.
It's critical that small business customers use a service
like Make
It Cheaper to help them understand their bill and find a better
deal in the market place - and for the residential customer, there
are plenty of independent comparison services to choose from who
will help find them a cheaper supplier.