Millions over-billed for energy
The gas and electricity consumer watchdog Energywatch has warned that millions of customers are facing inaccurate utility bills.
They estimate that as many as five million consumers have received inaccurate estimated bills from their energy companies and the problem is being made worse because people do not check their bills.
The chairman of Energywatch, Ann Robinson, said that customers mistakenly trust energy companies to get their bills correct but this trust is misplaced. ‘Until the energy companies learn to produce accurate bills, consumers should check their bills or pay the price,’ she explained.
The watchdog is calling for meters to be read more often and for companies to offer incentives to encourage their customers to provide meter readings rather than rely on estimates.
Energywatch is also producing two sets of guidelines to advise consumers. One will make it easier to compare the performance of different companies and the other is a checklist to help consumers avoid pitfalls, such as debt, caused by the billing blunders of power companies.
