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Estimated energy bills can be inaccurate

November 16, 2008 by admin  
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Officials from a new consumer watchdog group have expressed concern that many consumers are receiving estimated energy bills that mean somewhere along the line they will end up paying more for their energy usage than they need to, netting the energy films more profit and leaving the consumer even more out of pocket.

Officials from Consumer Focus said that around sixteen millions consumers are likely to receive estimated bills, and because of this many will end up paying the increased rate for energy usage on units that they used before the price of energy usage was raised in the summer. For many customers this will result in a massive catch up bill when the meter is actually read.

Consumers are advised to check for the letter E on their bills, which indicates that it is an estimate bill, and to take a reading and let their energy supplier know right away so that they do not end up getting charged the higher rate for units they used when gas and electricity prices were cheaper.

A Consumer Focus official said: “Consumers could be paying higher prices for gas or electricity used in the past, while for companies it results in a very nice windfall.”

Over the past year energy bills have gone up twice, and many consumers are already facing spiralling costs with many being pushed into fuel poverty. This has caused controversy amongst industry groups, particularly given that the price of oil has now fallen dramatically yet the energy firms have made no move to reduce the cost of energy usage. Many officials are calling on the energy giants to now reduce the cost of energy usage before Christmas in response to the fall in oil prices.

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