Brits are being told to take action to avoid being overcharged on energy bills.
In April, the energy price cap is set to rise, leaving millions of homes across the country with higher energy bills.
A typical household is expected to experience an increase of £111 in their energy costs—a 6.4% increase.
However, a significant surge in charges could occur even beyond the predicted rise for some individuals due to a widespread oversight that can be easily averted.
By taking one simple step before the forthcoming Tuesday, residents can prevent this – by doing a meter reading. Doing so before April 1 is key to ensuring that any energy you use before the April 1 deadline is billed at the old, cheaper price.
However, Martin Lewis’ Money-Saving Expert specifically warned against artificially inflating the figure to benefit from lower prices: “The short answer is no, you shouldn’t do this – it’s fraud.”
If you miss the deadline you could get an estimated bill from your energy supplier which might not mirror actual usage.
Note that deadlines for submitting readings differ between suppliers.
MSE has recommended that customers check their energy meters sooner rather than on March 31 to prevent widespread system outages: “If all of us rush to do this on the same day, it can lead to suppliers’ websites crashing and phone lines becoming jammed, which can affect vulnerable people.”
Octopus Energy is encouraging its customers to submit readings ahead of the end of March deadline, and says that any submitted by April 8 will be honoured retrospectively.
Customers are advised to take photos of their meter readings as proof should they need to challenge a bill later.
For those with Scottish Power and E.On, meter readings can be provided up until April 5 and April 6, respectively, for backdating, while EDF extends its deadline until April 9 and Ovo allows backdating until April 11.
British Gas offers the most flexibility, permitting customers to send in their readings all the way until April 14. Readings can typically be updated online, through a provider’s app, or by getting in touch via call, text, or email.
Individuals with smart meters or those who use prepayment meters are not required to submit readings manually. The upcoming price cap change will impact those on variable tariffs—affecting around 22 million homes across England, Scotland, and Wales.
Those on fixed tariffs, however, will not see a change, with bills set to remain constant throughout their contract period.
