Our customer commitments - treating customers fairly
Our three promises to customers are to deliver fair value, better service and simplicity. These commitments represent our dedication to putting customers first. They are also a public acknowledgement of our responsibilities as an energy supplier and a producer of electricity.
We know that trust in our sector is still low. But we have an ambition to become the best and most trusted energy supplier. And by living up to these commitments in all our activities, we believe we can make a real difference.
We welcome that the industry regulator Ofgem has set out Standards of Conduct for all energy suppliers, because we believe it will make things better for all customers. You can see more about the standards on this page.
Our Trust Test
We use a Trust Test to make sure we meet the Standards of Conduct. It means that when we create new processes, policies or communications, we ask ourselves ‘is this the right thing to do for our customers?’ Then we ask five more questions:
- Is this a fair thing to do?
- Are we being professional?
- Are we offering products, services and advice that are appropriate for each customer’s needs?
- Are we being transparent and communicating clearly?
- Are we being honest? This includes admitting mistakes and acting quickly to put things right.
See below for more detail on how we’re treating customers fairly.
Our three key promises for large business customers
To best serve our business customers we split them into two categories: Small and Large Business. Our Small Business customers usually have less than 50 sites and quarterly meter types but there is sometimes overlap as businesses develop. Our Large Business teams manage any customer with more than 50 sites or a half-hourly meter type.
Standards of Conduct
On 26 August 2013, Ofgem’s Standards of Conduct came into force to make sure energy suppliers like us treat customers fairly. It’s part of many positive changes that will make the market simpler, clearer and fairer for customers and help them to choose the best deal.
For residential customers, the standards cover all interactions with customers and for small businesses(2), the standards cover everything relating to bills, contracts and changing supplier.
The standards mean that whenever we deal with a customer, we make sure it’s in a fair, professional, appropriate, transparent and honest way. All our tariffs and services must be appropriate to our customers’ needs, just as information given to customers should be clear, easy to understand and jargon free. We need to make it easy for customers to get in touch and leave no stone unturned in putting things right if we make a mistake.
We need to make sure everyone at EDF Energy understands the standards expected of them. As part of this, each year we publish this statement, which sets out the actions we’re taking to treat customers fairly. You can read a full copy of the Ofgem standard of conduct.