Surge in households seeking help with energy bills in 2024, says Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice helped almost 60,000 households struggling to resolve problems with their energy bills last year – the equivalent of one person every two working minutes.

The charity said the figure was an increase of almost 20% on 2023 and double the number of 2020.

Billing issues were the single most common type of issue that Citizens Advice consumer service advisers encountered, it said.

It has urged Ofgem to do more to protect customers as soaring energy costs drive billing issues, with the average household having to absorb a 1.2% increase to their bill as of January 1 and another 3% hike forecast from April.

Decisions

The charity said said it was “crucial” that suppliers got billing right, meaning providing consumers with accurate and regular bills which they could easily understand in order to make informed decisions about their energy consumption and costs.

While energy billing issues were not a new problem, the consequences for consumers were frequently more serious since the affordability crisis, the advisory service warned.

Average bills remained 66% higher than the historic norms seen in summer 2021, meaning that when things go wrong the cost to consumers was higher and they were more likely to need support with resolving their issue.

Citizens Advice has called for reforms to billing rules, including limiting firms to be allowed to back-bill customers to six months for those with smart meters, down from the current 12 months.

It also wants better enforcement from Ofgem where suppliers fail to meet billing standards.

Budgets

Alex Belsham-Harris, head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, said: “Day in, day out our advisers support people whose budgets are on a knife-edge. Incorrect charges and large, surprise catch-up bills threaten to push these families into financial crisis.

“Consumers simply can’t afford to pick up the tab when something goes wrong, and the onus shouldn’t be on them to make up for companies’ billing errors.

“The regulator, Ofgem, must act to protect consumers by limiting back-billing to curb the amount customers can be charged.

“It should also raise service standards, so people struggling with billing issues get the help they need.”

A spokeswoman for Ofgem said: “Customers should not be spending hours rectifying incorrect bills or worrying about demands for money they don’t owe.

“It is a supplier’s responsibility to fix billing issues quickly and handle complaints effectively, and we have secured millions of pounds in redress and compensation where they have failed to do this.

“Last year we announced our intention to review the rules around billing accuracy and supplier billing practices, including back billing rules, as part of our consumer confidence programme.

“We have also set out proposals to reset the debt, and reform the system so customers receive a higher standard of support from their supplier when they are struggling.”