Overpayments netting a fortune for energy suppliers

According to recent reports more and more consumers are getting angry with energy suppliers such as British Gas because, despite quite substantial cuts in the cost of energy, they are still being overcharged on their payments. Although this leaves the account of the customer in credit, because they are being made to pay direct debits that are set too high, it means that the energy suppliers are hanging on to a fortune, on which they are netting the interest.

It appears that energy suppliers are holding up to one billion pounds of consumers' money by way of overpayments, which means that they can cash in on the interest whilst customers are left paying over the odds and having credit balances on their accounts. Reports indicate that around ten million households could be in credit with their bill balances, and this means that these companies are earning millions of pounds in interest from holding on to these overpayments.

With reduced consumption as a result of warmer weather coupled with reduced prices on gas and electricity, consumers are overpaying more than ever. Direct debits are only reviewed every few months, which means that for those months the customer continues to pay the higher amount and the supplier continues to clock up the interest on the extra amounts being paid by each customer.

Customers have been outraged at the overpayment system in place by British Gas, and over twenty thousand complaints have been received by the energy giant, the majority of which have been in relation to customers being charged too much on direct debits despite the fact that energy costs have come down. One spokesperson stated: 'Utility companies could be sitting on a cash mountain of up to £1billion by the end of the year. This is outrageous. This is money that is rightfully owed to customers.'