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Energy bills inaccurate and confusing say consumers

Written by on 6 April, 2010

Consumers have named energy bills as the most inaccurate household bill for the fourth year in a row, a report has revealed. Inland Revenue and communication providers such as those of broadband and digital television followed closely behind as the second and third most inaccurate suppliers.

New research from uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service, has shown that customers find energy suppliers make the most mistakes in their bills, often getting them wrong. Voted as worse than banks, council tax, utility providers and even the Inland Revenue, energy companies were criticised for being the most inaccurate for the fourth year running. Unsurprisingly then, energy bills also topped the list as the most confusing household bill in research by the industry regulator Ofgem, with 70% of customers finding them difficult to understand.

In just the last two years, three in ten households have been billed incorrectly for their energy supplies, with 17% of those having it happen to them more than once. Causing a huge inconvenience, the inaccuracies took an average of just over two months to be sorted out, though 36% were resolved after only a week.

What’s more, the mistakes are leaving consumers strapped for cash, as over eleven million households have unexpectedly had to pay out to their energy suppliers, owing them money following a discrepancy between their estimated bill and the ‘real’ bill which is based on true meter readings. The average cost owed is £153 -£11 or 8% higher than a year ago, and 12% of homes have had to pay between £200 and £400 after differences between estimated and actual bills. The news comes after a recent report that nPower charged a customer over £10,000 in backdated charges, after claiming her meter had been misread for years.

Losing faith in their companies and wanting to get a more exact bill through the door, consumers are now taking matters into their own hands. By taking their own meter readings, consumers hope to skip rough and inaccurate estimates and instead get a more precise figure to help reduce living costs. In the past six months, 71% of households have provided their own readings to their energy suppliers, compared to only 64% in the previous year.

Despite the bad ratings of their diligence in sending out correct bills, some positive results about energy suppliers emerged from the research. Year on year, inaccuracies have decreased by 5% from 35% to 30%, with less households receiving incorrect bills. The problems have also been dealt with much faster than previously, with 13% of issues resolved within a day – up from 11% last year – and 24% resolved within a week.

The report coincides with news that record high energy bills are currently coming through the letterbox after the coldest winter for years. Figures from price comparison site Energyhelpline show consumers have been shocked to receive bills of over £500 this week. With around half of Britain’s 26 million households paying their utility bills quarterly, many energy suppliers are sending out the January to March bills this week, and despite a small reduction in prices last year millions are facing massive charges after the coldest winter in 31 years.

Energyhelpline have estimated that this winter’s costs for gas and electricity is likely to be an average of £532.70 per household, estimating that consumers used around 18% more energy than last year and therefore have missed out on enjoying the price cuts. Since the cold weather the six major suppliers have reduced rates by roughly a further 7%, though most waited until the end of March before the lower prices were put in place.

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