UK energy bills set to drop - five steps to take if being overcharged

If you think you’re being overcharged, or are likely to be overcharged by your supplier, it’s important to act as soon as possible.

Step 1: Check your tariff hasn’t gone up.

Depending on the tariff you are on, a gas or electricity supplier is obliged to give you at least 30 days notice of price rises or changes in contracts.

If you can identify your tariff has increased and you were not informed by your supplier, you can raise a complaint.

This also applies if your contract ends and it auto-renews with a price increase. Even seasonal price changes must be communicated.

Step 2: Monitor your meter readings

Before taking action, double check you are being charged more than you should be.

While over half of UK homes now have a smart meter, there are still a significant number that don’t.

If you don’t have a smart meter, it’s important to regularly note down readings and compare them to your current tariff. Checking at the same time each month can be a good habit to develop.

Energy providers who estimate your energy bill can sometimes overcharge. While many people only ever submit a reading when they leave a property, it’s important to submit them regularly. Four readings over the course of a year or one every three months is recommended. Having a set of accurate readings will help build your case when proving bills are incorrect.

Step 3: Check your smart meter is working properly

For those with a smart meter, check that the actual readings on your meter match your bill.

If they are different, you should get in touch with the energy supplier, and they should be willing to issue a revised bill.

Step 4: File a complaint with your provider

Once certain your bills aren’t accurate, file a complaint with your gas or electricity provider.

You will need to provide solid reasoning, stating why you think you've been charged the wrong amount, with evidence to support your claim. Evidence can include your customer account or reference number, copies of the bill you are challenging and rationale for the dispute.

To file a complaint with an energy provider, you can usually call, use their online chat, email or post. Your supplier should always have a complaints procedure detailed on their website, with contact details.

It is recommended that you keep copies of everything for your own records. If you don’t get the outcome you want, you may want to escalate the matter.

Step 5: Take your complaint to The Energy Ombudsman

If the issue has not been resolved within eight weeks, you can take your complaint to The Energy Ombudsman.

Note that within nine months of submitting your original complaint to your energy provider, you should file the complaint with the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman Service has authority to enforce your provider to take action.

The above actions to tackle incorrect bills are recommended by Pranjal Arya, chief commercial officer of Hometree, boiler and home cover provider: https://www.hometree.co.uk/products/boiler-cover-insurance/