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To: Energy Secretary Grant Shapps
Energy Company Direct Debit Overpayments
Dear Mr Shapps. Energy suppliers are taking massive interest-free loans from customers by taking more, through monthly direct debits, than is reflected in their customers' energy use. Can we please have a law making energy suppliers disclose publicly the amount of money they are withholding from their customers in this way and to give those customers the opportunity to claim regular refunds where they have been overcharged instead of their account being kept 'in credit'. Also, once a customer has found a new supplier, there should be a mandatory timescale for these 'credits' to be repaid to former customers.
Why is this important?
Thousands of us energy customers (probably including you if you pay by monthly direct debit) are being regularly charged more than we owe for our energy use. In this way Energy companies are taking massive interest-free loans at the expense of us, their customers, making us believe we're better off keeping our accounts in credit. They are reluctant to refund these overpayments, even when we leave them for a new supplier and some of us are owed thousands of pounds taken through these direct debit overpayments. Energy companies should be made to declare publicly how much they are holding onto in 'customer credit', to offer customers regular opportunities to claim a refund and they should be forced to stick to a time limit for credit to be refunded to former customers. Times are hard enough without us having to subsidise greedy energy suppliers in this way.
