More than three million energy consumers could have been overcharged by their supplier in the last year due to billing errors, costing a total of £280 million or £78 each
Of the big six suppliers, ScottishPower is the worst offender – more than one in six (16%) of its customers say they were sent an incorrect bill in the past year****
Bills from E.ON and EDF Energy contain the least number of errors, although 8% of their customers said they had been overcharged
Almost half (45%)**** who received an incorrect bill say it was based on a different meter reading to the one supplied
Two in five (43%) waited for more than a fortnight before the issue was resolved by the supplier, with one in ten still waiting.
Over three million energy consumers could have been overcharged by their supplier through billing errors in the last year, costing a total of £280 million or £78 each, according to new research from Uswitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service.
ScottishPower is voted the worst of the big six providers for energy bill mistakes, with more than one six (16%) customers receiving an incorrect bill in the last year. E.ON and EDF Energy make the least number of errors, yet up to 8% of their customers said they had been affected.
| Energy bill mistakes broken down by supplier | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Energy supplier | % of customers receiving a higher bill due to energy supplier mistake in the last year | ||
| 1 | ScottishPower | 15.8% | ||
| 2 | SSE | 14.4% | ||
| 3 | npower | 13.9% | ||
| 4 | British Gas | 8.2% | ||
| 5 | EDF Energy | 8.0% | ||
| 6 | E.ON | 7.5% |
Source: Uswitch.com
The majority – almost half (45%) – of consumers whose supplier made a mistake said that a bill had used a different meter reading to the one they had supplied. Other blunders include customers being billed for the wrong tariff or product (28%), with almost a quarter (24%) saying the Direct Debit was set at the incorrect amount by their supplier.
| Breakdown of bill error types | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy supplier mistake | % of overcharged customers affected | ||
| The charge was different to the meter reading I provided | 45% | ||
| The tariff or product details were wrong | 28% | ||
| The Direct Debit was wrong | 24% | ||
| An incorrect fee was applied | 22% | ||
| The bill didn’t add up correctly | 19% | ||
| A special offer or discount wasn’t applied | 18% | ||
| My bill was muddled up with somebody else | 15% | ||
| I was charged twice for the same product | 8% |
Source: Uswitch.com
Not only does bad billing affect consumers’ pockets, but also their time. One in five (20%) waited between two and four weeks before the issue was resolved, with one in ten (9%) waiting more than two months. A staggering one in ten (10%) of consumers who were overcharged as a result of a mistake still haven’t received the money back from their supplier.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Jason Wakeford
Phone: 0203 872 5612
Email: jason.wakeford@uswitch.com
Twitter: @UswitchPR
Notes to editors
Research conducted by Opinium Research from 26th to 29th August 2014, amongst 2,012 UK adults (aged 18+). Results have been weighted to nationally representative criteria. * Consumers refers to those who are involved in paying a dual fuel provider for their household energy.
1.From a nationally representative sample of 2,012 UK adults aged 18+, 1,222 pay for a dual energy provider. This is 61% of 50,371,000 (ONS UK adult population) = 30,726,310.
12% of customers said that mistakes were made on their bill due to a mistake of the supplier: (143/1222 = 11.7%) 11.7% of 30,726,310= 3,594,978
In response to ‘The last time an energy company made a mistake in your bill and therefore overcharged you, how much were you overcharged by compared to what the cost should have been?’, the mean average cost of a mistake was £78.
Of the proportional 3,594,978 consumers who said their energy provider made a mistake, they estimate they were overcharged by an average of £78 the last time this happened = 3,594,978 * £78 = £280,408,284 (£280 million).
2.In response to ‘Thinking about the last time you were charged more than expected for an energy bill, what was the reason ?’, the following table reveals the percentage of big six customers who answered ‘the energy company made a mistake’. Figure is based on the percentage of those who received an incorrect bill due to mistakes by their supplier, out of all dual-fuel customers of the supplier. *Total number of dual fuel consumers who use the big six providers, and were overcharged in the last year, in the sample, are as follows: British Gas / Scottish Gas – 122, EDF Energy – 56, E.on – 59, nPower – 48, Scottish Power – 61, SSE – 43.
3.In response to: ‘You said the energy company made a mistake. What sort of mistake did they make?’ 45% of consumers answered they were charged for an amount that was different to the meter reading they supplied. 28% said that incorrect tariff or product details was the reason, 24% said direct debits were the reason and 22% said that wrong fees being applied were the reason.
4.In response to: ‘Again, the last time an energy company made a mistake and therefore overcharged you, how long did it take from the date that the mistake took place to the date the money was repaid back to you?’ 20% of consumer answered a fortnight to a month, 9% answered more than two months, 5% of consumers answered I never got the money back, 4% of consumers answered I am still trying to get the issue resolved. 4% + 6% = 10% of consumers who still haven’t received the money back from their suppliers.
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