As one of the UK’s newest energy suppliers, Bulb experienced rapid growth since launching in 2015. In November 2021. Bulb Energy announced it was unable to continue trading and would go into administration. Read on to discover Bulb Energy reviews from customers and what they had to say about its customer service and prices before it shut down.
Pros
- Ranked in the top 5 energy suppliers, scoring 69% in the last Which? survey.
- Scores high for bill clarity, with 4/5 from Which? and 5/5 from Citizens Advice.
- Easy to switch and with great customer guarantees - 5/5 for both according to Citizens Advice.
Cons
- High number of complaints reported by Citizens Advice, scoring 2/5 in this area.
- Not ranked particularly high in terms of ease of getting in touch - scores 3.4/5 in this area according to Citizens Advice.
- Which? gives the provider 3 stars in terms of value for money - not bad, but not outstanding.
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⚖️Bulb Energy reviews
In just five years, Bulb Energy developed many loyal customers, partly due to its aggressive marketing strategy of rewarding existing customers for referring new customers with a refer-a-friend bonus.
As one of the fastest-growing energy suppliers in the UK, Bulb supplied energy to more than 1.7 million homes and businesses across the country before going bust.
On 22 November 2021, Bulb Energy announced that it was to enter administration and its customers would be protected by Ofgem's Special Administration Regime (SAR).
The table below shows the average Bulb review scores from Citizens Advice, Which? and Trustpilot.
Customer review site | Average Bulb Energy rating |
---|---|
Citizens Advice | 71% |
Which? | 69% |
Trustpilot | 32% |
Below, we've broken down Bulb reviews by customer service, tariffs and prices, and bills and account management.
📞Bulb Energy customer service reviews
Customer service is one of the most important factors to consdider when choosing a provider. So what did Bulb Energy reviews reveal about how the supplier responded to its customers’ needs?
We found that when you do need to contact Bulb’s customer service team, they kept things simple and friendly, helping customers resolve any issues they had with minimal fuss.
Friendly, fast, flexible service at a great price. Would recommend highly.
Unfortunately, longtime Bulb customers were spending more time on the phone than they did in previous years. The company experienced tremendous growth over the its six year lifespan, which led to slightly longer waiting times on average, both on the phone and for responding to emails.
In 2017, Bulb Energy was rated as the fastest energy firm on average to respond to customer phone calls, with a waiting time of less than a minute! Shortly before Bulb Energy entered special administration, it took one minute and 52 seconds on average (according to Citizens Advice) to get through to a representative. As for emails, the Citizens Advice reported that Bulb Energy responded to 84.7% of emails within two days.
💸Bulb Vari-Fair reviews: Was Bulb Energy good value?
Another crucial factor to evaulate is how consumers rank perceived value for money, or the value of what they’re receiving from energy companies, as compared to the price of said services. So do customers feel like they’re getting their money’s worth with the Bulb Vari-Fair tariff? We did some digging through Bulb reviews to find out.
We found that Bulb Energy reviews frequently praise the supplier’s reasonable prices.
I like the fact that there is only one tariff, known as the Bulb Vari-fair tariff and that Bulb are as quick to bring prices down as other suppliers are to put them up. Added to that there is the fact that Bulb buy only from sustainable sources. What's not to like.
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Easy switch from previous supplier. Good support and very clear billing. Competitively priced.
🧾Bills and account management
As we mentioned above, Bulb Energy was dedicated to providing an easy and transparent service to its customers. A huge part of that effort came from prompt, easy-to-understand bills. We found that simple bills with clear explanations are mentioned frequently across Bulb customer reviews.
Contrary to the positive Bulb reviews from customers, it was recently revealed that nearly 11,400 Bulb Energy customers were mistakenly charged multiple standing charges between December 2017 and June 2020.
In total, these customers were overcharged by nearly £700 thousand! On top of having to pay back affected customers, Bulb also paid out an additional £675,000 in goodwill payments.
Discover how to manage your bills via your Bulb account with our complete Bulb Energy login guide.
⚖️How did Bulb Energy reviews compare to other suppliers?
How do Bulb Energy reviews fair against those of other energy suppliers? According to the latest research from Citizens Advice, Bulb Energy ranked 13th out of 23 UK energy suppliers in terms of fewest complaints. The organisation compares UK energy suppliers on a quarterly basis across the following six categories:
- Average call centre wait time
- Number of complaints per 10,000 customers
- Customers who had an accurate bill in the past year
- Bills and statements sent on time
- Switches completed within 21 days
- Customer guarantees
Bulb received an overall score of 3.55 out of five stars in the April to June 2021 survey.
In the table below, we’ve listed the the top ten suppliers so that you can see how their scores compare to Bulb's.
Rank | Energy Supplier | Rating |
---|---|---|
1 | M&S Energy | 3.95 |
2 | Octopus Energy | 3.95 |
3 | EDF Energy | 3.85 |
4 | Co-Operative Energy | 3.75 |
5 | Outfox The Market | 3.75 |
6 | E-Energy | 3.56 |
7 | Affect Energy | 3.45 |
8 | So Energy | 3.45 |
9 | Utility Warehouse | 3.15 |
10 | Shell Energy | 3.15 |
Information from Citizens Advice Last Updated March 2022
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📢How well did Bulb Energy handle complaints?
The table below shows Bulb’s complaints handling data per quarter over 2020. By looking at the table, you’ll notice that the number of complaints received has significantly increased. This is likely due to the supplier’s rapid increase in its number of customers.
Time period | Complaints received/100,000 customers | Percentage resolved by end of next working day | Percentage resolved within eight weeks |
---|---|---|---|
January - March 2020 | 689 | 19% | 85% |
April - June 2020 | 1,065 | 28% | 97% |
July - September 2020 | 1,962 | 45% | 97% |
October - December 2020 | 2,259 | 41% | 94% |
Complaints FAQs
How do I make a complaint to Bulb?
If you need to file a Bulb complaint, the easiest way to do so is by contacting the supplier on 0300 30 30 635 or emailing its complaints team at [email protected]. Bulb will aim to solve the issue within five business days.
I am unhappy with the way Bulb resolved my complaint - is there anyone else I can contact?
If you are still unsatisfied with the resolution, you can then request a “deadlock letter” from Bulb. This letter serves as written confirmation that Bulb was unable to resolve the issue. You can then refer your complaint to the Energy Ombudsman. If the provider declines to issue you a deadlock letter, you can still refer the complaint to the Energy Ombudsman after eight weeks have passed since you first raised the complaint.