Read your energy meter - or you may be missing out like we nearly did

Did you know that unless you supply your Utility provider with a meter reading on or around the date of any price cuts you could be overcharged. This is because consumption is typically overestimated by the Utility providers most of which take infrequent meter readings. Also, when they call you are usually at work or out in the evening. So whenever they do reduce their charges, they rely on estimated usage that could be out of date or inaccurate. Therefore, if months go by before a later meter reading is taken, showing the customer used less energy than expected over the entire period, the provider cannot tell how much to charge at what rate. Therefore, chances are that the consumer is overcharged. Therefore, submitting an accurate meter reading is crucial. As we have just found. If a tariff changes and you don’t know the actual energy you have used, it can happen that you may get overcharged. One way to avoid it is to provide a meter reading on the day of the price change. Utility Providers must notify you of any tariff changes by letter within 30 days, but it is still up to the customer to provide the accurate reading. Internet-based billing via direct debit will also help to lower costs. You can submit your Meter Reading using any of the weblinks shown below: EDF https://my-account.edfenergy.com/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/EnterMeterRead_OutAccount.EnterMeterRead_Controller Southern Electric http://www.sse.co.uk/youraccount/giveameterreading/ Eon https://www.eonenergy.com/for-your-home/your-account/meter-readings-non-css Npower http://www.npower.com/home/help-and-support/meter-readings/providing-a-meter-reading/ British Gas http://www.britishgas.co.uk/youraccount/discover/submit-meter-reading.html Scottish Power http://www.scottishpower.co.uk/support-centre/billing/provide-your-meter-reading/ For more information on this, please click on: www.energyhelpline.com Regulator Ofgem demands suppliers try to read meters at least once every 2 years but consumers should check at least once a quarter. Most consumers pay via direct debit to even out the cost of their bills, so the credit built up during the summer months can cover the higher winter bills when it is colder. If you believe your direct debit is too high then you should contact your Utility provider and ask them how it is calculated and check it is in line with your consumption. From reviewing our own Utility bills it makes sense to switch if you are on standard tariffs with no exit penalty. For more information on this, please click on: https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/ For more information on this, please click on: http://www.energymadeclear.com/ For more information on this, please click on: http://www.energy-uk.org.uk/home.html