Energywatch warns ‘Beware of Overcharging’
Writes Dan Drage dan.drage@consumerchoices.co.uk
With so many price rises taking place, it’s easy for energy companies to tilt the scales in their favour according to Energywatch.
Energy regulator Energywatch has been called in to investigate customer claims that energy companies are skewing bills to include more units consumed at expensive rates than the previous cheaper ones.
Graham Kerr of Energywatch spells it out:
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"Unfortunately, most people don't pay much attention to their bills"
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“We have had complaints that, when price rises take places, energy companies sometimes appear to load a disproportionate number of units on the bill at the higher rate”
He continues:
“Unfortunately, most people don't pay much attention to their bills. For direct debit customers it can be especially difficult to spot anything because the money comes out of their accounts each quarter and there is a balancing up at the end of the year.”
Mr. Kerr added customers should also be wary if they are charged for extra units because consumption was underestimated in a previous bill. Those extra units should be charged at the old, lower rate, not the post-price hike rate.
Chris Eagle, Commercial Manager at Credit Choices, has a few words of advice:
“Take regular meter readings, and check your bill with a fine toothed comb when it arrives. If you find that you’ve been incorrectly billed, request an amended bill both verbally and in writing.”
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