https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-66992865
Energy firms held a combined £8.1bn of customers’ bill overpayments at the start of 2023, new Ofgem figures show.
Many households pay a set monthly amount, building up credit in the summer to cover higher winter bills.
Companies can hold onto those overpayments, but MP Angus MacNeil accused them of holding “too much money” and “sitting on a nest egg”.
Industry group Energy UK said direct debits were based on forecasts made when unit prices were volatile.
Customers can request refunds, it added.
The system is designed so customers have higher amounts of credit in September and October heading into the winter, but it should balance out close to zero in April and May heading into the summer.
Energy regulator Ofgem said that “customers have the right to request their balance back at any time and be refunded in a timely fashion”.
But one customer, Dan Malcolm, told the BBC it took six weeks and hours spent on multiple phone calls to get just some of his money back.
The father-of-three from Dunfermline unknowingly built up £1,100 of credit with his supplier in September 2022…………………………………………………
I’m convinced my mother is being done like this. Her direct debit is twice mine, and she has a gas cooker.
She only gets a bill once a year for no good reason*, so it’s incredibly hard to check her actual usage.
*because they’re trying to force people to have a smart meter.
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