.png)
2 hours ago
1
OFGEM has launched a sweeping crackdown connected suppliers to assistance shield thousands of households from freezing successful their homes owed to disconnections.
Energy customers are acceptable to payment from a caller 24-hour hotline to assistance resoluteness gas and energy disconnections extracurricular of moving hours, The Sun tin reveal.
1
Currently, vigor firms lone connection 24/7 helplines for superior emergencies, specified arsenic gas leaks oregon fires.
Vulnerable low-income households, often utilizing prepayment meters, tin besides telephone a fig to apical up their meters if they go disconnected aft hours.
However, these calls are often automated with a robot oregon AI, leaving those experiencing existent method faults with important trouble extracurricular of regular hours.
Meanwhile, those with recognition meters person small to nary enactment if their state oregon electricity meter malfunctions oregon if their proviso is disconnected successful the evening oregon implicit the weekend.
The regulator says that astir 83,000 customers question assistance each twelvemonth betwixt 8pm and 8am owed to being chopped disconnected from their proviso owed to metre faults.
In response, Ofgem has launched a consultation to activate a dormant regularisation requiring each suppliers to supply lawsuit work helplines astatine each hours for disruptions owed to state oregon energy metre faults.
This licence information was initially introduced arsenic dormant successful October past twelvemonth erstwhile the vigor watchdog announced a bid of caller rules making it easier for customers to interaction their suppliers.
However, Ofgem is "not satisfied that capable advancement has been made".
A spokesperson for the regulator said: "If a lawsuit is chopped disconnected due to the fact that of an contented with their metre they should beryllium capable to entree assistance and enactment whether that’s during the day, overnight, oregon connected a weekend.
"Being chopped disconnected from your vigor proviso is simply a precise superior substance and for immoderate susceptible customers it tin person unsafe health and information implications.
How to chopped vigor costs and get assistance with FOUR cardinal household bills
"So, portion we person allowed vigor suppliers and web operators clip to make a collaborative solution, we are not satisfied with the advancement that’s been made.
"We are committed to driving guardant a solution that means consumers are not near without assistance erstwhile they request it."
Peter Smith, manager of argumentation astatine National Energy Action, said: "It's close that the regulator is requiring amended show from suppliers successful reconnecting households to their vigor astatine each times of day.
"Meter issues tin hap astatine immoderate clip of time truthful each suppliers achieving this request would beryllium hugely beneficial for households who look freezing successful their homes implicit winter if their proviso is chopped off."
How volition the caller strategy work?
Ofgem is present consulting connected however it tin get suppliers to acceptable up a 24/7 helpline for disconnections.
One connection nether information is for suppliers to make their ain dedicated helplines for this purpose.
Alternatively, an industry-wide fig could beryllium introduced, allowing customers to telephone a azygous fig careless of their supplier.
Anyone calling this helpline would past beryllium automatically routed to their ain supplier's lawsuit work team.
Single helplines that nonstop customers to the due work for circumstantial issues are already a staple wrong the home vigor industry.
For example, if a lawsuit suspects a state leak, they tin simply telephone 0800 111 999 for punctual help.
Similarly, successful the lawsuit of a power cut, individuals tin dial 105, nary substance which vigor institution they are with.
In the fiscal sector, individuals acrophobic astir contacting their slope and unsure of the close fig can dial 159 to beryllium straight connected.
In the meantime, Ofgem volition consult connected the methods of implementing the caller 24 hr hotline until December 20.
The regulator plans to merchandise its findings successful aboriginal 2025, with a solution acceptable to beryllium rolled retired aboriginal successful the year.
What vigor measure assistance is available?
There's a fig of antithetic ways to get assistance paying your vigor bills if you're struggling to get by.
If you autumn into debt, you tin ever attack your supplier to spot if they tin enactment you connected a repayment program earlier putting you connected a prepayment meter.
This involves paying disconnected what you beryllium successful instalments implicit a acceptable period.
If your supplier offers you a repayment program you don't deliberation you tin afford, talk to them again to spot if you tin negociate a better deal.
Several energy firms person assistance schemes available to customers struggling to screen their bills.
But eligibility criteria alteration depending connected the supplier and the magnitude you tin get depends connected your fiscal circumstances.
For example, British Gas or Scottish Gas customers struggling to wage their vigor bills tin get grants worthy up to £2,000.
British Gas besides offers assistance via its British Gas Energy Trust and Individuals Family Fund.
You don't request to beryllium a British Gas lawsuit to use for the 2nd fund.
EDF, E.ON, Octopus Energy and Scottish Power each connection grants to struggling customers too.
Thousands of susceptible households are missing retired connected other assistance and protections by not signing up to the Priority Services Register (PSR).
The work helps enactment vulnerable households, specified arsenic those who are aged oregon ill, and immoderate of the perks see being fixed beforehand informing of blackouts, free gas safety checks and other enactment if you're struggling.
Get successful interaction with your vigor steadfast to spot if you tin apply.
Some consumer rights experts person criticised the caller crackdown arsenic being excessively little, excessively late.
Scott Dixon, the complaints resolver, said: "Billing, lawsuit work and metre issues are the biggest issues consumers person with vigor providers.
"Energy suppliers request to marque it easier for customers to interaction their suppliers and enactment customers astatine the bosom of their business, peculiarly susceptible households and customers who request other help.
"Making it hard to talk to anyone astir issues and deploying useless chatbots and AI to chopped costs is simply a shortsighted approach."
Dixon besides noted that the caller helpline does small to assistance those with malfunctioning astute meters who are not disconnected.
A important fig of these devices inactive run successful "dummy mode", wherever information is not automatically transmitted to vigor suppliers.
According to figures published by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) successful August, immoderate 3.5million smart meters were not operating successful June 2024.
Customers person reported being deed by massive bills caused by faulty meters.
Smart meters were archetypal introduced to homes successful 2011, with the authorities initially aiming to instal 1 successful each UK location by 2020.
This deadline has since been extended to 2025.
Smart meters are designed to destruct the request for accepted metre readings, providing much close billing based connected existent usage alternatively than estimates.
They besides alteration users to show their vigor depletion astatine assorted times of the time and night.
An in-home show is besides usually provided, which connects to the metre and shows your vigor usage and the outgo successful pounds and pence.
But if your instrumentality isn't moving arsenic expected, you could beryllium billed inaccurately for your usage.
Earlier this week, Sun Money highlighted 1 of the antithetic reasons wherefore your astute metre mightiness beryllium operating successful "dumb" mode.
If your vigor supplier won't hold to hole your faulty device, we urge that you taxable a ceremonial complaint.
How bash I kick astir my vigor supplier?
SIMILAR to financial services firms, energy companies have to person a complaints process for customers to follow.
When you marque a complaint, travel this process truthful they person the accusation they request to resoluteness the issue.
Explain the occupation and what you privation your supplier to bash astir it.
Check your vigor supplier's website for an mentation of however to motorboat a complaint.
Energy suppliers person 8 weeks to respond and travel to a decision.
If it doesn't oregon you're unhappy with the response, you tin instrumentality the steadfast to the Energy Ombudsman.
The Energy Ombudsman whitethorn beryllium capable to assistance if you person a complaint about an vigor oregon communications provider.
Before submitting your ailment to it, you indispensable person logged a ceremonial ailment with your supplier and worked with the steadfast to resoluteness it.
You indispensable besides person received a alleged deadlock letter, wherever the supplier refers your ailment to the Energy Ombudsman.
You tin besides kick if you haven't had a satisfactory solution to your occupation wrong 8 weeks.
The Energy Ombudsman past bases its determination connected the grounds you and the institution submit.
If you take to judge its decision, your supplier past has 28 days to comply.
The Ombudsman's decisions are binding connected the vigor company.
If your supplier refuses to travel the instructions, the Ombudsman whitethorn contact Ofgem to remedy the situation, but there's nary acceptable play for escalating issues to the regulator, and it's not up to the customer.
If an idiosyncratic chooses not to judge the Ombudsman's last decision, they suffer the close to the solution offer.
Customers inactive person the close to instrumentality their ailment further done the courts.
But remember, this tin beryllium a costly and lengthy exercise, truthful it's worthy reasoning cautiously earlier taking this step.
.png "indianexpress.")
.png "khaleejtimes")
.png "arabnews")
.png "gulfnews"){kind=logo}
English (US) · 
Hindi (IN) ·