Complaints as opportunities 13 the risks involved in poor complaint handling So there are numerous potential risks to an organization if complaints are not handled well. From a customer's perspective there is the irritation and frustration experienced by the minority of people who do try to com- plain directly to the organization but find it difficult to know where to complain, or who are met by indifference and lack of care about their needs. For the organization the customer risk in ineffective complaint resolution results in: reduced customer trust and loyalty; reduced uptake of products and services; customer attrition; customers becoming detractors, actively criticizing the organization and not recommending it to others. Ineffective use of complaints information can result in continued customer dissatisfaction with recurring issues. Poor complaint handling is estimated to result in between 5 and 15 per cent lower revenues, and corresponding reductions in profits. When an organization does not welcome complaints, this can result in a huge hidden cost as a business does not have any feed- back from customers about why they are defecting. As we have seen, there is also a reputational risk for the organization when complaints are not dealt with fairly, resulting in criticism not only by customers but by non-governmental organizations, media, consumer associations and trade organizations. In addition, as many companies operate in a regulatory environment, there is a risk of non-compliance with relevant regulation and legislation, result- ing in regulatory censure, sanctions, fines, withdrawal of licence to operate, and capital and revenue loss. For example, in July 2011 in the UK, energy provider British Gas was fined £2.5 million by the energy regulator Ofgem for the mishandling of customer complaints. British Gas is the UK's largest energy supplier, serving nearly half of British households. Specifically, Ofgem found that British Gas failed to re-open complaints when customers indicated that their complaint was not resolved,