The Institute of CS Reviews 3

I contacted the Institute of Customer Service (ICS) on 7 January 2026 after experiencing significant service failures, procedural barriers, and a lack of engagement with evidence in a case involving disability‑related detriment handled by an ICS‑accredited organisation.

Given the seriousness of those issues, I asked the ICS to clarify:

whether the Energy Ombudsman is currently an accredited organisational member of the Institute of Customer Service

whether accredited organisations are required to meet defined standards of complaint handling, accessibility, and customer engagement

whether there is a process for raising concerns when an accredited organisation appears not to meet those standards

As of today, I am still waiting for a reply — from an organisation whose homepage loudly proclaims: “SET THE PACE FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.”

It’s a pace that clearly falls short of the Institute’s own expectations, and instead mirrors the growing trend of hollow award schemes: glossy badges that look impressive on a website but offer no meaningful assurance to the public. In this case, the accreditation feels less like a mark of excellence and more like a badge of shame.

I called them with the intention of asking a couple of questions:
How much it costs to join and
To ask how a company that doesn't answer any emails or the phone can be an " Institute of Customer Service member"

Telephoned the number......got the answerphone 10.25 on a Thursday morning.
Great customer service.
As Littlejohn would say " You couldn't make it up"

I contacted ICS for assistance in contacting a company they had awarded a service of excellence award. They basically told me they couldn't help and to go and speak to someone who cares. Needless to say, for an organisation called the Institute of customer service their customer service seems to be lacking somewhat. As a result I would find it very hard to award them any more than one star in this review.