Energy bills: We cut back but are paying three times as much'

Amy Appleyard had been paying £136 a period to vigor and airy her home.

Knowing that vigor bills would emergence successful the autumn, she and her household had chopped backmost connected however overmuch powerfulness they were using.

But they were shocked to beryllium told that their monthly nonstop debit would emergence much than 3 times to £442.

They are conscionable 1 of galore UK households who person chopped backmost connected vigor but are inactive being charged higher nonstop debits. But suppliers accidental bills person to bespeak soaring vigor prices.

It comes aft Business Secretary Grant Shapps wrote to vigor firms asking them to guarantee bills reflected the magnitude of vigor customers were using, and not to over-estimate charges.

Mrs Appleyard, her hubby Mike and eight-year-old girl Kathryn, faced the immense hike successful nonstop debit vigor payments contempt cutting backmost astatine their three-bedroom location successful Greater Manchester.

"We've each travel a spot much obsessive astir turning disconnected lights oregon unplugging chargers," Mrs Appleyard said.

"We besides didn't enactment the heating connected arsenic aboriginal arsenic accustomed this year, conscionable possibly for an hr to lukewarm the location through."

She said her family's "nightmare" started due to the fact that her supplier chopped their monthly nonstop debit without telling them, truthful erstwhile it made its yearly reappraisal of their monthly payments it led to a overmuch bigger summation than usual.

"After spending hours connected the phone, and being guaranteed that I would wage £200 monthly, and past seeing that £442 was inactive taking retired of my account, I conscionable burst into tears," she said.

Since past determination person been much conversations and Mrs Appleyard said she hoped the concern volition soon beryllium sorted.

"We conscionable privation to wage for the state and energy we utilized but it's go precise difficult," she said.

"I've been told that lone £200 volition beryllium taken retired of my relationship successful December, but the concern is ongoing and has been horribly stressful."

Meanwhile, Rory successful South Wales said his nonstop debits had besides gone up, portion his vigor usage had gone down, truthful helium ended up £1,400 successful recognition with his supplier.

He told Radio 2's Jeremy Vine Show that helium had asked to trim his nonstop debit to a monthly magnitude helium could spend but his supplier refused.

He said the nonstop debits person been accrued to £481 adjacent though his monthly usage has been nearer £300.

"I simply privation to trim it to an magnitude I tin spend to wage and usage the surplus to apical up. I don't privation to person each that wealth sitting determination and maine paying a ridiculous magnitude to the vigor provider," helium said.

Customers who wage state and energy bills by nonstop debit person the costs evened retired implicit the twelvemonth successful a process known arsenic smoothing.

The purpose of smoothing is to debar abrupt measure shocks by spreading the outgo implicit the full twelvemonth truthful adjacent if you usage a batch much vigor successful a wintertime month, you don't get a nasty surprise.

The measure you get should beryllium the existent magnitude you're charged for your energy. It is simply a operation of a lasting regular complaint positive your metered vigor usage (your portion complaint per kWh).

It volition alteration each month, depending connected however overmuch vigor you use.

Suppliers promote nonstop debit payments by offering customers a discount. They past estimation what your bills volition beryllium implicit the year, based connected the terms of state and energy and connected your erstwhile and predicted vigor use.

Suppliers should guarantee your nonstop debit outgo is just and proportionate to your usage.

If immoderate lawsuit ends up overpaying, they should beryllium capable to assertion the other magnitude backmost astatine the extremity of the twelvemonth and possibly trim their nonstop debits.

However rising vigor costs - prices person doubled since past twelvemonth - person near astir radical facing higher nonstop debits.

If your nonstop debit payments are regularly higher than your bills, you tin situation the magnitude with your supplier.

Ask them to little your monthly payments to bespeak much accurately the magnitude of vigor you really use, based connected your metre readings.

If they garbage you tin marque a ailment to your supplier and if you get nary restitution you tin escalate it to the Energy Ombudsman.

Earlier this year, an Ofgem reappraisal of however vigor firms were charging customers by nonstop debit revealed that astir 500,000 households had seen their payments double, contempt prices rising by 54%.

It told UK vigor suppliers to reappraisal the mode they complaint customers by nonstop debit.

Ofgem said it had already called connected firms to code the issue, but would beryllium prepared to instrumentality further enactment if necessary.

At the play Mr Shapps told vigor firms: "I americium funny to recognize however you mean to guarantee that your nonstop debit strategy does not over-estimate charging."

Household vigor costs are acceptable to emergence again adjacent twelvemonth which volition mean further rises successful nonstop debits.

The government's vigor terms warrant is being scaled backmost from April, erstwhile a emblematic household's yearly measure volition summation to £3,000.