In the ‘Handle with Care’ publication, based on 3,000 customer responses, consumers gave utilities 5.1 out of ten for complaint resolution, beating local public services (5) and national public services (4.5).
However, the ICS report did reveal that utility customers are the most likely to complain, with only 14 per cent of unhappy consumers being “silent sufferers”.
The most popular reason (28 per cent) for utility customers to remain silent was because the complaints procedure was “too much hassle”.
The report, based on responses to the UK Customer Satisfaction Index, revealed that the number of consumers suffering a problem across all the sectors fell from 17 per cent in January 2008, to 11.7 per cent in July 2012.
However the proportion of customers who went on to lodge a complaint increased from 72 per cent to 76 per cent in the same period.