Energy firms are most moaned-about service in Northampton according to new figures

The yearly round of stats has been compiled by Ombudsman Services, a firm which resolves consumer gripes that have been ongoing for more than eight weeks.

The figures come as part of the company’s third annual Consumer Action Monitor survey, which asked thousands of people around the UK about the quality of service they have been receiving from various companies.

And they show that most complaints made by Northamptonians, 708 in total, related to energy firms.

Billing issues, or problems with changing suppliers also ranked high and the company also recorded a further 238 complaints about communications firms.

Commenting on the findings, chief ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith said: “Those that live in Northampton are actively standing up for their consumer rights, but there’s still more that can be done by businesses.

“Complaining doesn’t have to mean making a fuss – there’s help out there and we would encourage anyone with an issue to come forward.”

In total there were 52 million complaints in the UK last year, but there were still 66 million issues that were not acted on.

In the East Midlands, there were more than 3.2 million complaints, with nearly 4.9 million issues brushed under the carpet.

Northamptonians could have taken a further 280,000 gripes to a formal stage, but chose not to.

However the town appears to be sticking up for its rights when it comes to energy companies.

In total only 539 energy complaints were made in nearby Milton Keynes and a paltry 234 energy complaints made in Luton last year.