Tower Hamlets residents received more than £35,000 in compensation from companies they had long running complaints against last year, new figures reveal.

Figures compiled by Ombudsman Services show that people living in Newham made 291 complaints against energy and communications companies from January-December 2016,

In total, the complainants received financial rememdies to the value of £35,693, meaning each complaint earned the customer on average £122.66

All in all, customers in London were awarded more than £1.3 million in compensation last year by Ombudsman Services, which handles energy and communications complaints that have been on-going for at least eight weeks.

The most active complainers were those in Barnet who recorded nearly a quarter more complaints than the next highest borough. The lowest amount of complaints came from Walham Forest.

The most awarded on average went to those in the City of London and Westminster who claimed an average of £218.

Lewis Shand Smith, chief ombudsman at Ombudsman Services, said: “It’s important that residents in the London know their consumer rights and don’t put up with bad service.

“Complaining should be an easy, hassle-free experience – if you’re still in a dispute with an energy or communications company after eight weeks, Ombudsman Services can look into the case for free and provide a resolution – it could be worth your while.”