Why it pays to keep a close check on fuel bills
Energy watchdog Ofgem claims that energy suppliers have overcharged customers over the last seven years after failing to comply with price protection rules. Here, Linda Dodge, energy expert from SaveOnEnergy. com/uk, has some advice on what steps you can take as a homeowner:
Across the UK, people are owed money by their previous or current energy suppliers. However, many people are either not aware that they are in credit or they don’t know how to go about claiming an energy refund from suppliers. Fortunately, Ofgem has rules that should make it relatively easy to claim for the money that you are owed.
If your current energy supplier owes you money, it is referred to as a “live” account balance. There are several different ways that you can find out if your energy supplier owes you an energy refund.
If you pay your energy bills online, simply log in and check your account balance. If you receive paper bills, your latest bill should tell you if you are in credit.
If you can’t find a recent bill, simply get in touch with your energy supplier and it should be able to tell you whether you have overpaid or not.
It is also worth remembering that three of the big six energy suppliers, Npower, ScottishPower and British Gas, will refund credit automatically, so you probably won’t need to request a refund.
If your old energy supplier owes you money, it is referred to as a closed account balance. Aside from looking back at your bills from your previous supplier, there is a scheme called My Energy Credit that helps people who have moved or switched suppliers reclaim money that they may be owed, regardless of how much time has passed.
My Energy Credit’s website provides information about the claims process for all the major suppliers, so it’s a great jumpingoff point for anyone who needs to find out whether their previous supplier owes them money.
The amount of money that your energy supplier may owe you is based on the amount of money that you have overpaid. According to recent research, the average British person who pays by direct debit is £108 in credit with their energy provider.
Of course, it’s possible that you’re owed significantly more or less than this amount. For example, if you regularly switch providers and you have overpaid with many of your old suppliers, you may be owed hundreds of pounds. To find out for sure, you’ll need to look at a recent bill or get in touch with your supplier.
Your previous supplier should have repaid your energy credit after you switched providers. However, many providers fail to do this, which means that you will need to pursue the energy refund yourself.
The length of time that a refund takes varies. In some cases, you should be able to get it within eight weeks, although it may take months.
If your energy company is not refunding credit readily, or within eight weeks of the request, you can lodge a complaint with the Energy Ombudsman.
To avoid overpaying and claiming refunds, make sure you check your energy useage and adjust the amount you pay accordingly. If your energy supplier is at fault for an outage, you can claim for a power outage refund. If the outage was planned, then your provider is required to give you two days notification.
If it didn’t provide you with this notification, you are entitled to claim £30, although you must do this within 30 days of the outage.