adminA SURVEY suggests energy companies pocket millions each year by overcharging a third of customers by £121 on average.
Energy companies make £650m by a year from billing errors, with more than a quarter of customers overcharged, a survey has indicated.
On average, these customers are left £121 out of pocket by gas and electricity providers, which can earn large sums on the surplus before correct bills are calculated. Energy firms achieve this by sending out high estimated bills before taking correct meter readings.
Clare Welton, from the Fuel Poverty Action campaign group, said that the practice of issuing incorrect bills was “daylight robbery” and called energy firms “profiteers”.
She said: “With energy bills from the Big Six soaring, you would imagine the one thing the profiteers could do right is charge their customers the correct amount. Overcharging customers could make the difference between households having enough money to keep the heating on or turn it off, and for some people risk becoming become ill.
“This daylight robbery disguised as sloppy service from energy companies is yet another blow to the idea that the Big Six, or any bodies that put profit before people’s needs, are in any way suitable to be running our energy system.”
The energy industry urged customers to check their own bills and supply up-to-date meter readings to avoid this scenario. The criticisms over bill errors follow a line of accusations that energy firms are making profit while households suffer this winter.-Online
Online Reporter