How to check if your energy bill is wrong as prices set to rise
With energy bills set to rise in April it’s easy to think that a big bill landing in your inbox or on your doormat must be right – but mistakes do happen.
It’s not just customers on older gas or electricity meters who can be affected and risk losing money – recently a broken smart meter landed one mum with a £27,000 bill.
So how can you find out if your meter is working properly and what should you do if your bill seems wrong, or more money suddenly goes out to your energy supplier on your direct debit?
Here’s what you need to know.
Check your direct debit
If you pay by direct debit, it’s possible your supplier has increased this – but they should always tell you first. If they haven’t, the Citizens Advice has advice on how to complain – you can do this by phone or webchat on their site and take it further if you’re still unhappy.
They also have lots of useful information on what to do about sudden rises in direct debits, including asking your supplier to explain the increase and how to claim back any overpayment.
But do bear in mind that the amount you pay on direct debit is averaged out over the year, so even if you’re using little in the summer months you’re storing up payment for the winter.
Is your bill estimated?
Suppliers will estimate if they don’t have an up-to-date meter reading. Your bill should make it clear if the amount used is an estimate.
If it seems too high, check your meter readings and submit them. You can give your readings to your supplier by phone, or often via their website or app.
But if you’re on a smart meter and get an estimated bill, this means the meter isn’t working properly in smart mode and not automatically sending the details to the supplier. You’ll need to take and send the readings manually.
Check the dates on the bill
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According to ‘back billing’ rules, suppliers can’t charge you for energy used more than 12 months ago.
So if you haven’t had a bill for a while and suddenly get a whopper, check the dates it refers to.
Citizens Advice has further guidance and a template of a letter you can send to your supplier in this case.
Compare meter readings
It’s always possible that the supplier has used the wrong meter reading (even someone else’s!) or you’ve accidentally submitted an incorrect one – take a look at the numbers on the bill and compare them to your meter.
If there’s a big difference, it’s likely something’s gone wrong. Contact your supplier.
Check if your meter is broken
They’re not common, but broken meters do happen – and the first sign is usually an unexpectedly high bill.
A prepayment meter might show an error message, such as ‘battery’ or ‘call help’.
You can try a basic check on credit meters by switching off everything and then checking to see if the numbers are moving. If they are, it’s likely there is a fault.
Obviously, if it’s a gas meter (and you’ve turned off everything including any pilot lights) this could indicate a leak – report it immediately to the National Grid Gas Emergency line on 0800 111 999.
You can ask your supplier to test your meter – they’ll send someone to sort this. Sometimes they’ll ask you to take readings for seven days first.
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