Energy suppliers worst for getting bills wrong
Consumers have named energy suppliers as the worst culprits for getting bills wrong for the fourth year in a row, according to new research from uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service. The energy industry was voted worst for inaccuracy, ahead of banks, council tax departments and other utility providers, pipping the Inland Revenue to the post for the fouth year running.
Three in ten households (30%) have been on the receiving end of an inaccurate energy bill within the last two years - 17% of these on more than one occasion. On average, these inaccuracies took just over two months to resolve, although 36% were resolved within a week.
As well as taking time and effort to sort out, inaccurate bills can leave people out of pocket. Over 11 million households (43%) have unexpectedly ended up owing money to their energy supplier following a discrepancy between an estimated bill and a ‘real' bill based on actual meter readings. The average amount owed in such instances is now £153 - £11 or 8% higher than a year ago. However, 12% of households have ended up owing between £200 - £400 due to a discrepancy between an estimated and an actual bill.
As a result, growing numbers of households are taking matters into their own hands by providing their own meter readings to their supplier. Almost three quarters of households (71%) have read their own meter in the last 6 months compared to 64% in 2009. This is welcome news as providing real meter readings breaks the reliance on estimated readings and should ensure more accurate bills.
Other positives to come out of the research are a year-on-year drop in the overall number of households who have been billed inaccurately (down to 30% from 35%) and an increase in the speed with which problems are resolved. This year 13% of billing issues were resolved within a day (11% last year) and 24% within a week (19% last year), which is good news for customers.
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: "Clearly there's a long way to go before the energy industry lays the ghost of bad billing to rest, but there is some hope here. The fact that more households are providing suppliers with meter readings will play no small part in improving the accuracy of our energy bills. This is consumer power at its best with people taking matters into their own hands to ensure that their bills are accurate and up-to-date. As more of us get into the habit of doing this regularly we should start to see a marked improvement in both the quality of our bills and the reputation of the providers.
"The energy industry still falls far short of its peers, but suppliers have been working hard to make it easier than ever for consumers to provide their own readings. This can be done online, over the phone, by post or even text. Consumers should aim to provide a reading once a quarter - failure to do so can result in receiving an estimated bill, which is where many of the issues relating to accuracy lie. It may seem like a pain, but it really is in all our interests to make sure that suppliers are using up-to-date information on our bills."