Energy News

Energy companies worst culprits for getting bills wrong

Thursday, 15 April 2010

By Seamour Rathore - seamour@consumerchoices.co.uk

Ever had a bill shock? Chances are you were billed incorrectly by your energy company, according to a new survey.

Consumers say energy companies are the organisations most likely to bill them incorrectly, according to a survey of over 2,000 Brits.

The energy companies beat the Inland Revenue and telephone and credit card providers for the fourth year running.

The survey also found that over 11 million households have ended up owing money to their energy supplier following a discrepancy between an estimated bill and a real bill.

Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com, said: “Clearly there’s a long way to go before the energy industry lays the ghost of bad billing to rest.

“The energy industry still falls far short of its peers, but suppliers have been working hard to make it easier than ever for consumers to provide their own readings.”

The survey also found:

• 71% of households have given their supplier a meter reading in the last six months
• Billing inaccuracies take an average of two months to resolve
• 30% of households have been billed incorrectly by their energy company within the last two years.

Chris Eagle, marketing director of Energychoices.co.uk, said: “It pays to take control of your energy bills – get into the habit of taking a reading regularly.

It’s also important to have trust that your energy supplier will seek to resolve billing issues in as short a time as possible.

Our energy switching service has reviews from users on all the energy firms – the quality of customer service can be an important criterion if you want to switch to a new supplier. And don't forget to watch our video below to help you take your meter readings and do an accurate comparison.”