According to Uswitch, one in ten households have credit balances over £300, and 4% have more than £500 – yet only three in ten households plan to ask for some cash to be returned
Millions of UK households could be due payouts worth potentially hundreds of pounds – but to get the cash, they will need to act. According to research from Uswitch, 15million households are owed a total of £3billion in energy credit from their suppliers.
According to experts, the beginning of May is the perfect time to check the level of energy credit on your energy account if you pay by direct debit. This is when you should have the minimum credit in your account, so if you have too much, you could get some back.
With direct debits, your energy supplier will take your annual costs and divide them by 12 -this smooths it out so you are not paying madly high costs during the winter months. Households should start rebuilding their credit levels during the spring and summer, and with this concept, you should have peak credit in November. However, it’s important to note that this will depend on how much your direct debit is and how much energy you use.
Uswitch says each household’s credit should be around two months of their direct debit. However, one in ten households has credit balances over £300, and 4% have more than £500. Yet only three in ten households plan to ask for some cash to be returned.
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Edinburgh is the “UK’s energy-credit capital” according to the comparison and switching service, with the average home storing £224 with their supplier, while Belfast has the least, at only £127. London has the highest proportion of households in credit.
Uswitch.com is advising consumers to check their energy account and consider reclaiming any excess amounts of credit, which is generally any amount above two months’ worth of payments.
Elise Melville, energy expert at Uswitch.com, said: “More than half of UK households are coming out of the coldest time of year with credit on their accounts. During the energy crisis we advised households to leave energy credit with their supplier to protect against rocketing prices.
“However, with the price cap coming down from those highs of the energy crisis, consumers with excessive credit may want to consider reclaiming some of it. If you have a high credit balance, you may want to ask your supplier to check that your direct debit is set at the right level for the amount of energy you use.
“Although falling energy bills is good news, they are still high by historic standards and unfortunately, a significant number of people are in debt to their provider. We recommend that anyone who is worried about their energy bills should contact their supplier, which can offer advice and support. To ensure you are being billed accurately, make sure you submit regular meter readings to your supplier if you do not have a smart meter.”
Average energy credit levels for UK cities
UK average – £198 (Households in energy credit: 54%)
- Edinburgh – £224 (Households in energy credit: 42%)
- Nottingham – £222 (Households in energy credit: 57%)
- Manchester – £218 (Households in energy credit: 52%)
- Southampton – £217 (Households in energy credit: 52%)
- Birmingham – £216 (Households in energy credit: 52%)
- Newcastle – £212 (Households in energy credit: 57%)
- Norwich – £207 (Households in energy credit: 49%)
- Brighton – £206 (Households in energy credit: 53%)
- Leeds – £204 (Households in energy credit: 57%)
- Glasgow – £203 (Households in energy credit: 51%)
- Liverpool – £197 (Households in energy credit: 60%)
- London – £189 (Households in energy credit: 66%)
- Sheffield – £175 (Households in energy credit: 56%)
- Bristol – £174 (Households in energy credit: 43%)
- Cardiff – £155 (Households in energy credit: 54%)
- Plymouth – £130 (Households in energy credit: 61%)
- Belfast – £127 (Households in energy credit: 64%)
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