Dodgy meters cause 1.5 million gas customers to be wrongly billed
Suppliers contacting affected customers to offer refunds.
Energy industry trade body Energy UK has confirmed energy suppliers are contacting some customers on gas pre-payment meters to offer refunds, after they were incorrectly billed as a result of faulty meters.
According to Energy UK, the suppliers know who is affected and will be contacting customers directly, so you don’t actually need to do anything.
Any money that is owed as a result of incorrect bills will be refunded in full as quickly as possible.
As many as 1.5 million pre-payment meters did not work properly when they were installed. Energy UK said that all of the suppliers involved will be working over the coming months to ensure all faulty meters are fixed.
Angela Knight, chief executive of Energy UK, said that the meters were manufactured with a problem which meant that they “over-collected” from customers.
She added: “The suppliers and the wider industry are all very sorry this problem has occurred but are already getting in contact with customers.”
Rachel Fletcher, senior partner for markets at energy regulator Ofgem, said: "Suppliers must act quickly to resolve the problem in a way that treats customers fairly. We have not ruled out enforcement action.”
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Comments
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I've never had a prepayment meter myself but in helping a neighbour get the best tariff I made sure she was moved from the prepayment gas meter to a credit meter at the earliest opportunity. I was rather shocked by the fact that the basic level of information necessary to gauge consumption was denied by the fact that the consumption data via the meter reading was not visible to the consumer. Bills were not presented on the normal basis of this is what you have used multiplied by the unit charges plus standing charge, so it was impossible to discover this rip off was taking place. The point is that supplier get their payments up front. Its up to the suppliers to develop ways of collecting that money and recharging meter keys as efficiently as possible - the current methods revolving around local shopkeepers who take a cut doesn't work to the customers benefit. But they pay through the nose as they're always on the suppliers "standard" contract - which means their most expensive. The regulator should "fine" the suppliers the same amount as the overcharge via a further credit to the customers.
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I think it's wrong for energy companies to charge more for prepayment meter supplies. With a prepayment meter they are paid upfront for any energy used and only risk a loss of £5 if a customer decides to stop paying because the meter automatically cuts the power at that point. A quarterly payer would surely pose the most risk, putting a few months worth of payments at risk in case a customer stops paying. Not all prepayment customers are bad credit. A friend of mine always uses prepayment meters because she can't keep track of what she uses with monthly & quarterly billing. With a prepayment meter she can see what she has left on the meter and plan when to top up, knowing she will never receive an unexpected high bill. Surely prepayment metered customers should be paying 2% less, not 2% more on their energy.
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What a pathetic society we live in where the poorest and most vulnerable, the young and aged, pay more for their energy than the wealthy. Surely, having to use a prepayment meter should flag up a need to possibly pay a little less.... although I can see where wealthy scum would take advantage.
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27 November 2014