One in four energy bills could be incorrect

12th April, 2012

It has been discovered that on average, one in four energy bills for gas and electricity customers are incorrect.

Part of the problem is the sheer amount of energy tariffs, there are approximately 120 different types and the other major problem is that many of the mistakes are made by call center staff that do not speak English fluently enough to deal with the complicated nature of the customer’s complaints.

Research carried out by the website uSwitch.com, found that more than one in three households have found that they unexpectedly owed money to their energy company. The mix up usually occurred when there had been a discrepancy between an estimated bill and ‘real’ bill.

The average amount still owed following a discrepancy on the bill was in the region of £152.00. The time taken to correct the mistake was, on average, just under 2 months. A director at uSwitch said “Consumers are paying hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year on household bills – the least they should expect is for these bills to be accurate. Billing blunders can cause consumers to end up out of pocket, as well as wasting time and effort trying to get the issue resolved”.

 

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