Your energy firm is ripping you off!

If you're making this mistake, then your energy provider may be ripping you off - to the tune of £153!

It’s been a cold winter in the Fitzsimons household. It probably didn’t help that we returned from our honeymoon in the sunny climes of the Caribbean at the very start of the year to be met by the worst snow in decades, which only emphasised the chilliness.

But we also own a house that veers from baking hot to freezing cold almost at random. And this winter it felt seriously cold, so the heating has been on a fair bit.

Thankfully, because we keep track of how much energy we are using, there was no nasty surprise waiting for us when we got the energy bill in the post. However, it would appear that we are somewhat lucky in that respect.

Incorrect bills

According to new research, three in ten households have been billed incorrectly for their energy use within the last two years.

What’s more, for almost a fifth of those that have received inaccurate bills, it’s happened on more than one occasion.  And these errors aren’t cheap – over 11 million households have reported unexpectedly owing money to their energy supplier due to a difference between the estimated bill and the actual bill, costing them on average £153.

Do it yourself!

I’ve said it before, but the concept of an estimated bill just doesn’t work for me, and to be fair to the energy firms, many of them are at least trying to make it easier for you to get an accurate bill.

Many now allow you to send your readings to them, whether over the phone, by email, or even by text message. It’s a good idea to keep a record, perhaps every week, of how your energy reading has changed.

Thankfully, many of us are now doing just that – research suggests up to 71% of us have performed our own meter reading in the past six months, a jump of 7% on 2009.

The tools are generally at your disposal to ensure that the bill that lands on the mat is at least accurate, and being prepared in this way should rule out any nasty surprises at the end of each quarter.

• Watch this video: Slash your energy bills

How to complain

All that might be a little late if you are currently looking at a hole in your finances thanks to an inaccurate bill.

The first step to getting this rectified should be the provider themselves. On the back of your utility bill will be details on how to register a complaint with the firm. Should that prove fruitless, the best place to go is the Energy Ombudsman.

Related goal

Lower your household bills

How to cut your energy, insurance, phone, broadband, water and TV bills, lower your council tax and save thousands of pounds a year!

Do this goal

The Ombudsman can provide free and impartial advice, and should your complaint prove a success, they can force the supplier to comply with their final decision.

Obviously the Ombudsman can only take action on firms that have signed up to its scheme, so check the list on the website to make sure your supplier is a member.

It’s also worth checking out the Energy Retail Association website. This is the trade body for energy suppliers (though it only has the ‘big six’ as members, with new upstarts like OVO Energy and First: Utility conspicuous by their absence), and has a code of practice on the issue of billing. If your provider isn’t abiding by that code, then you have grounds to complain.

• Adopt this goal: Lower your household bills

Moving to a new supplier

Of course, getting an accurate bill is all well and good, but just as important is getting the cheapest deal you possibly can.

Despite the energy firms talking a good game about cutting tariff prices, particularly towards the end of last year, the reality is somewhat different. As my colleague Neil Faulkner highlighted in Winter fuel bills hit record high, not only did households get whacked with record bills for the last quarter - £532.70 on average, up £57 on last year – but over the past two years, bills have risen by a frankly disgraceful 50%.

Recent question on this topic

• pasquires asks:

  How can I save money on utility bills when the quoted prices per unit are higher than my current bills?

  • 
    MikeGG1 answered "Perhaps you have a price guarantee that was keeping your prices down. The savings quoted are just..."
  • 
    champ69 answered "I got £55 and £50 cashback from changing to EDF and Scot Power, when I went through..."
  • Read more answers

We do talk about it a lot at lovemoney.com, but it bears repeating – if you are on a standard tariff, you need to change as soon as you possibly can. These are always far more expensive than the more competitive deals the providers offer, usually online.

However, it’s not just those on standard tariffs that should be on the lookout for better deals – we all should be on our toes to ensure that we are not paying more than we need to.

We have a cracking comparison centre at lovemoney.com which you can use to determine which tariff is the best for you and your energy usage. Thanks to the 16,000 tariff variations that the system analyses, you can save a fortune – up to £700 in fact, as explained in This energy tariff will save you £££.

So long as you stay vigilant, your bills will not only be accurate, but low too!

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