A not-for-profit, ethically conscious energy supplier, Ebico wasn't your stereotypical provider. So how did people view Ebico in terms of customer service? Why did it eventually close? Let’s break down Ebico reviews to find out.
Ebico customers have been transferred to British Gas. Ebico was supplied by Robin Hood Energy under a ‘white-label’ agreement. In September 2020, Robin Hood sold its customer base (including Ebico customers) to British Gas.
Ebico Reviews: An Overview
We analysed former Ebico reviews from Trustpilot, Which? and Citizens Advice to see if we could understand more about what might have led to the supplier closing. In this guide, we've broken down the Ebico reviews into the following categories:
- Customer service
- Value for money
- Billing and account management
- Complaints
Information in this guide is no longer being updated since the closure of this supplier. All information presented here was correct at time of original publication and is for reference purposes only. For more up to date information please contact the new supplier directly.
Ebico Customer Service Reviews
After prices and tariffs, most people would probably say customer service is their most important factor to consider when looking at switching energy providers. It determines how you will be treated, how your problems will be dealt with, how quickly your emails will be responded to and your phone calls answered. If a supplier performs poorly across these areas, it will leave extremely unhappy and unsatisfied customers.
So what do Ebico reviews reveal about its customer service? There’s been quite a mix of opinion online regarding Ebico’s customer service. Up until Spring 2020, it was common for customers to report that the supplier had ‘excellent customer service’ with helpful and friendly call agents that sorted their issues promptly and professionally.
In Which?’s annual customer satisfaction survey, it was common for Ebico to excel in the customer service category as well. The supplier often scored around four out of five stars for phone customer service. In online customer service, Ebico even received a perfect score of five out of five stars in 2018.
Excellent customer service, polite, helpful and (a) pleasure to speak to over the phone. Trustpilot review
Ebico Energy reviews took a turn in the first half of 2020, with what appeared to be statements becoming increasingly negative. Some customers claimed the service was not only inefficient, but that the customer service agents were also rude and unhelpful. There were also complaints of waiting a long time for calls to be picked up and not receiving an email reply for months on end.
Impossible to get a simple enough, recurring problem sorted with their useless customer services, many phone calls, wasted hours of my time. Trustpilot review
According to research carried out by Which?, Ebico had an average call-wait time of 3.78 minutes, which placed it in the middle of the pack. Since Ebico's closure, customers will now be needing to call British Gas for assistance. If you're looking for information on how to get in touch with them you can have a look at our guide to contacting British Gas.
Value for Money Reviews
Much like the reviews of its customer service, Ebico reviews for its prices were quite mixed. Some customers considered the supplier to be great value for money and applauded its reasonable pricing. On Which?, Ebico even received a full five stars for value for money. Meanwhile, other customers complained about substantial price increases that made their tariffs expensive.
Let’s point out that value for money does not necessarily mean cheap prices. For some, value equates to the quality of service you receive for the amount you pay. In the case of Ebico, customers got 100% renewable electricity. Moreover, some customers simply loved that it was a not-for-profit company and they were willing to pay for an ethical supplier.
Very happy with Ebico’s services and prices. Much cheaper than all of the larger gas and electricity suppliers. Even better that they are a not-for-profit organisation so no shareholders to pay. Trustpilot review
Ebico styled itself as an alternative to the Big Six, offering economical tariffs to help those struggling to pay their energy bills. However, from our own research, we’ve found that it was not cheapest option on the market (Bulb Energy, Octopus Energy and Together Energy, for example, all had cheaper variable tariffs).
Additionally, some customers saw two significant price increases. The first took place when Ebico got rid of its zero standing charge variable tariff and moved all customers onto its standard tariff. The second was when it increased the price of this tariff by £169 in April 2019. This latter rise saw customer bills increase by 16%, to which some customers were left annoyed.
Originally had a fair price, not the cheapest on the market but reasonable. However, they hiked their prices to double what I was paying, with no real explanation. Ruth
It is always a good idea to keep an eye out for price hikes throughout the year when you are on a variable tariff. Many suppliers tend to raise their standard tariff in line with the maximum price cap set by the government. For Ebico customers looking to avoid paying expensive variable rates, it's best to register for one of the more affordable British Gas fixed tariffs or switch your energy supplier entirely, as deals fluctuate regularly.
For more detailed information about Ebico’s tariffs, as well as to find out what happened to customers with an Ebico tariff since the supplier closed, check out our Ebico tariffs guide.
Billing & Account Management Reviews
Another factor that people generally consider important when choosing an energy supplier is they they provide accurate, clear bills, and have a user-friendly website and online account service. Website and online account wise, Ebico Energy reviews were very positive. Billing wise, they were mixed.
Since 2017, Robin Hood Energy was responsible for all of Ebico’s energy account management services, including readings customer’s meters, creating and sending customers their bills, and dealing with payments. Customers and account management have now been transferred to British Gas.
Website & Online Account Reviews
The majority of customers noted that the Ebico website was easy and simple to use. From our own experience, we can attest to this. The website was logically laid out, making it easy to find the information you were looking for.
Ebico’s online account service was also straightforward, user-friendly and the Ebico login process took only a few seconds.
Billing Reviews
In Which?’s annual survey, Ebico achieved 4/5 for both bill accuracy and bill clarity. As Robin Hood was in charge of this aspect of Ebico’s services, Citizens Advice reviewed the two companies together in this area, giving them an overall score of 3/5 stars, with 94.8% of customers receiving at least one accurate bill during a year, and 85.9% stating their bills arrived on time.
Used to be good till they moved to Robin Hood. I give readings but they still send me estimated bills so they can overcharge me. Bills arrive a week after the pay by date.Anonymous customer
Curiously, many of Ebico reviews reported that the billing service started going downhill when the supplier partnered with Robin Hood Energy. Since the change, customers reported receiving incorrect bills more frequently, suggesting that Robin Hood Energy used estimated meter readings instead of accurate submitted readings to calculate the bills. In fact, nearly half of all complaints filed from July to September 2019 were focused on billing and meter reading services. This only could have been true for customers without smart meters, as smart meters report your exact usage directly to the company.
How well did Ebico handle complaints?
All energy suppliers receive complaints. How quickly they resolve these complaints can be a good indication of the quality of their customer service.
Unfortunately, we could not find any recent Ebico complaints handling reports online. The latest one we could track down was the 2015 report, which is a bit outdated. We did, however, manage to find some figures from Which? regarding how efficient the company is at resolving complaints.
Information in this guide is no longer being updated since the closure of this supplier. All information presented here was correct at time of original publication and is for reference purposes only. For more up to date information please contact the new supplier directly.
According to Which?, in the second half of 2018 Ebico managed to solve 24% of the complaints it received by the end of the next working day and 57% within eight weeks.
Time frame | % solved by end of next working day | % solved within 8 weeks |
---|---|---|
Second half of 2018 | 24% | 57% |
These figures seem quite low, and the statistic of 57% complaints solved within eight weeks is quite surprising as eight weeks is the timeframe set by the energy ombudsman for suppliers to resolve complaints. With Ebico only solving 57% in this time, it hints at a large number of customers left with unresolved issues.