The Spanish Government has approved a draft bill requiring utilities to attend to customers over the phone within three minutes.

The new draft bill requires energy companies to answer all customer service phone calls within this time limit while consumers will be given the right to be attended to by a person, not a chatbot.

Last week, Ofgem issued the UK Energy Incubator Hub with a provisional order to take measures to ensure its customers receive high-quality services.

A recent survey by charity Citizens Advice showed that customer service was at the worst level it has been on average since 2017.

A Freedom of Information request from Quadient has revealed that British customers’ complaints about messages from energy savings and home improvements and energy suppliers soared by 54% in 2021, from 6,505 to 10,038.

Alberto Garzon, Spain’s Consumer Rights Minister, said: “The new regulation substantially improves the attention given by customer service.

“We work to ensure that the right of consumers to personalised and effective attention is respected.”