Subscribe to this blog's feedListening to BBC Radio 5 late last night, Disconnector was intrigued to catch a debate between Uswitch energy consumer policy director Ann Robinson and Utility Week editor Steve Hobson on energy billing.
It appears Uswitch has come up with some new research saying a third of customers regularly receive estimated bills, and inaccurate estimates can push some vulnerable customers into debt. In our experience, most customers complain than estimated bills leave them owed money at the end of the year but leaving that aside the argument that bad billing causes debt is getting rather tired.
What with the Energy Retail Association code of practice on billing, Energywatch and the Energy Supply Ombudsman, customers with any concerns over their energy bills should have no difficulties getting the help they need these days.
All credit customers are at liberty to read their own meters and submit the readings to their supplier at any time, though most are probably in the same boat as Radio 5 presenter Anita Anand, who admitted she never checked her energy bill and didn't even know where her meters where.
In this day and age, it is increasingly unsatisfactory that customers either have to stick their heads in a cupboard to read a meter or allow a complete stranger access to their homes to do it for them. Getting energy consumption information out of the cupboard is essential to both better billing and reducing carbon emissions by encouraging energy efficiency, and that is why everyone should get behind the Look Smart campaign in support of smart meters launched by Utility Week, the ERA and Energywatch. Go to www.utilityweek.co.uk to get onboard.
