Are your gas and electricity bills too high?

The most common cause of overcharging stems from estimated meter readings.

Energy companies are only legally required to check your meters every two years and if they don't know how much energy you've actually been using then they use an estimate to calculate your bill (this is usually indicated by an 'E' appearing after the meter reading on your bill.)

These estimates can sometimes be drastically wrong.

You can check the accuracy of the estimate by taking meter readings yourself. By doing this you should be able to determine if you've used less energy than you've been charged for and whether you've been overcharged or not.

Another controversial tactic that energy companies have been using is to increase tariffs but not tell the customer about it for several weeks.

This means that you could be paying more for your energy for up to two months without noticing. The delay in notification could also rob you of the opportunity to shop around for a cheaper deal.

If your bill is high, then check it to make sure you are paying the tariff that you agreed to.

How to make a complaint about utility overcharging

Claims Financial