Freezing energy customers are waiting over an hour to speak to suppliers – at up to 65p a minute, a Sunday Mirror investigation found.
We made evening calls to Eon, British Gas, EDF, Scottish Power and SSE after customer complaints surged as temperatures plunged.
British Gas fared worst – we were left hanging for 79 minutes. The wait could cost £51.35 for people on the dearest pay-as-you-go mobile tariffs.
EDF came in close behind at 78 minutes, while Eon took 72 minutes.
Scottish Power assured us they were “prioritising vulnerable customers” – but cut us off after 54 minutes. We tried to reconnect five times but were told “we are too busy to place your call in a queue.”
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SSE came out best at a still-pitiful 50 minutes and 13 seconds.
The waits were criticised by Ken Smith, who cares for a man, 84, with learning disabilities. Ken, of Newcastle, said: “His Eon prepayment meter started taking double the normal amount so I needed to speak urgently.
“I tried ringing several times but was left on hold for 40 minutes and then cut off, followed by another hour and then cut off again.”
British Gas said it had hired an extra 700 staff this winter and EDF said it had 500 more on the phones.
Other suppliers did not comment.
