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British Gas has been ringing customers in the middle of the night asking them for feedback about its performance, The Telegraph can reveal.
A “technical issue” meant numerous customers were woken earlier this month to the sound of an automated message asking them: “This is British Gas, we want to conduct a survey asking how did we do?”
The blunder, which took place in the early hours of March 12, left customers furious with one fearing it was a call from her mother’s care home to say she had died.
Rebecca Ringshall, 63, who was woken at 3.15am alongside her husband, said: “My elderly mother is 92, she can’t look after herself and is in a care home. We have had the discussion with the home, if she is starting to fade, my mum has said she wants my brother and I with her.
“So when the phone rang, I did fear the worst for a couple of seconds. I thought they might say something like ‘your mother has passed away in her sleep’.
“When I realised it was British Gas, I just couldn’t believe it. I just put the phone down, I was thoroughly hacked off about it.”
After her stepdaughter raised the issue on social media the following day, a member of the British Gas customer relations team reached out over X, formerly Twitter, to investigate the incident.
However, Mrs Ringshall felt the way the complaint was handled on social media smacked of “insincerity”.
She said: “They went completely over the top which really wound me up. They said ‘as someone who has been in a similar situation to you in the past, I can completely understand the panic you’ve mentioned and my heart goes out to you with this’.
“You don’t have to go out with ‘my heart goes out to you’, I’m sorry it’s just insincere.”
Mrs Ringshall had been on the phone “all day” with British Gas the previous Tuesday after the company had collected a £30 overpayment when she had closed her mother’s account in October last year.
Although British Gas accepts Mrs Ringshall is owed a refund, she is still yet to receive the money three weeks later.
British Gas has apologised, saying: “We completely understand that a phone call in the middle of the night creates worry.”
The company added that only a “small number” of customers received an automated call and the issue was resolved as soon as they became aware.
British Gas refused to disclose any more details about how many customers were disturbed.
However, other social media users reported being woken at 2.30am, and another said they were called at 4am and the error led to the energy firm closing its feedback line until it was fixed.
Last week, British Gas was urged to improve its customer service by Which? after a study by the consumer group found it was one of worst performing energy firms for quick responses and effective solutions.
Which? applied a net satisfaction score, subtracting the percentage of dissatisfied respondents from the percentage of satisfied respondents on a scale between -100 and +100.
It found British Gas had a satisfaction score of +16 for how long it took to get in touch with a member of customer service who could provide help, and scored +23 for how long it took to get an answer to an issue or query. Only Ovo Energy and Scottish Power had a lower approval rating.
British Gas has recently said that they have invested in improving customer service and extended opening hours, but the study showed one customer had spent 43 hours on the phone and sent 24 emails trying to fix a billing issue for longer than a year.
She said staff lacked empathy, causing her distress as she was made to repeatedly explain that her husband had passed away. Another found himself stuck at 830th in the queue for an online chat after struggling to find any phone numbers for British Gas customer service.
A British Gas spokesman said: “We’re investing over £50 million in customer service - this includes hiring 700 more UK based contact centre staff at the end of last year and introducing longer call centre opening times. We’re also helping our most vulnerable customers through our sector-leading £140m customer support package.
“We’re very sorry Mrs Ringshall was woken by the call and we completely understand that a phone call in the middle of the night creates worry. Last Tuesday a small number of customers received an automated call from us in error due to a technical issue, which we fixed as soon as we were made aware. We’re also processing the £30 refund that Mrs Ringshall contacted us about and it will be with her soon.’’