Understanding utility bills getting harder

It has been claimed by officials from consumer watchdog group Consumer Focus that understanding gas and electricity bills is actually getting more difficult for some people, despite the fact that the energy regulator Ofgem has issued new rules that are aimed at making it easier for consumers to understand their utility bills from energy companies.

Around 10 percent of income is spent on gas and electricity, and officials are concerned that with the most expensive time of the year nearly upon us, where consumers will be using more energy due to the weather, many could end up paying over the odds because they are unable to work out what they should be paying.

The concerns come after it was revealed that one of the big six energy giants in the UK, Npower, had been inadvertently overcharging over one million households across the country, and those affected had not even noticed that they were paying too much for their energy usage.

Officials from Consumer Focus said that whilst Ofgem was trying to make it easier for consumers to understand their energy bills and avoid paying over the odds the situation actually appeared to be getting worse. This could be a combination of people finding it hard to work out what they should be paying or people simply not bothering to check their energy bills.

A spokesperson for Consumer Focus said: “If anything, we are seeing more complexity than before the rules came in. If I was an Npower customer, I would never have noticed that I was being overcharged. People don’t want their energy to be confusing – they want to be able to switch the lights on and forget it, but instead there are all these ridiculous structures.”

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Tags: debit payments, Consumer Focus, Financial services, hiking, energy giants, scale, energy bills