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October 2012 - Oil and Gas

 

Market research covering 2,000 adult Britons by Gocompare.com has revealed that energy companies owe millions of UK consumers more than £1billion in refunds for overcharging them on their gas and electricity bills.

A total of 55% of British households claim to currently be in credit with their gas and electricity suppliers, while it is estimated that they are each owed £80 on average. This equates to energy providers benefiting from an extra £1.2 billion by customers paying too much.

Nevertheless, only a fifth of customers who are owed money by their energy providers are actually asking for refunds on their overpayments, with more than half leaving it to 'sort itself out over time'.

Many customers however may not be aware that they are entitled to refunds on their accounts or that they are consistently overpaying - almost a third of respondents think that energy companies deliberately make their bills confusing.

Meanwhile, Ofgem has ordered providers to simplify their offerings and bills, although these changes are not due to come into effect until summer of next year.

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