What a shocker!

By TOBY WALNE, CHIEF MONEY REPORTER
Updated:

 

A FAMILY have saved thousands of pounds after challenging a £4,000 bill from their energy supplier. They uncovered a huge blunder when they read their own meter.

The appalling error is the latest in a long list to blight the utilities industries. We highlighted the scale of the chaos with a report last month in an attempt to shame the industry into cleaning up its act.

We handed a sackful of reader complaints to British Gas and forwarded others to energy providers. Most complaints were about administrative mistakes and bullying sales techniques.

Keith Loveman, 37, and his wife Ruth, 36, were horrified when they were billed £4,000 for the last quarter of 2001. And they were incensed when energy supplier nPower took £358 without authorisation from their bank account through a direct debit. Previously it had taken £25 a month.

Had nPower read the meter at the Lovemans' home in St Albans, Hertfordshire it would have avoided its huge mistake. In fact, the meter has not been read since December 1999.

According to energy watchdog Ofgem, the error, one of thousands made by energy suppliers each year, highlights the need for consumers to check meters and bills.

Keith, an accountant in the NHS, says: 'I would not have been quite so annoyed had nPower not had the cheek to help itself to our money because of a mistake of its own making. I asked the company to put the money back in my account immediately in time for Christmas. It agreed, but then sent a cheque for £100 less than I was owed.'

After we contacted nPower, it apologised to the Lovemans for its mistakes and is now investigating the blunder over their bill.

Ofgem has strict guidelines for energy suppliers. It says that as a matter of good practice, suppliers should read meters at least twice a year. In any event, they should make serious attempts to read meters at least once every two years to avoid big mistakes.

Ofgem spokesman Richard Hunt says: 'It is in the suppliers' best interests to make sure they get records straight. We urge people to check meter readings every time they get a bill if it is estimated and tell the supplier if it is incorrect. Rather than overestimating, suppliers tend to underestimate the amount owed. This can lead to a nasty surprise when the meter is finally read.'

About £800m a year is spent by gas and electricity suppliers on reading and installing meters - costs that are passed on to customers.

Hunt says: 'We will open up competition this year by getting more companies to provide meters, which we hope will enable them to be read without access in the near future.'

Nick Lakin, a spokesman for energy supplier TXU Energi, believes traditional methods of reading and estimating bills belong to a bygone age when supply markets were monopolised.

He says: 'We encourage customers to give us their meter readings as often as they like, whether by e-mail, phone, fax or even letter. The best way to time it is to send your reading a couple of weeks before the bill is due to be sent.'

Lakin says bills based on estimates are calculated by looking at bills from the previous year. This means customers who have moved or whose lifestyles have changed are likely to find estimated bills out of kilter.

• For energy queries or complaints, contact the consumer watchdog Energywatch on 0800 887777, or visit the website www.energywatch.org.uk.

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