I got an £872 energy bill refund – it was so easy and only took five minutes to claim
Little-known rule that reveals whether YOU should claim an energy refund too
BILL BOOST I got an £872 energy bill refund – it was so easy and only took five minutes to claim
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A FATHER-OF-THREE has revealed how he clawed back £872 in overpaid energy bills in just a matter of minutes.
Chris Matthewman, from Basildon, Essex, bagged the "immensely helpful" credit after diving into his finances.
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Chris Matthewman got an £872 energy refund after finding out he was overpaying
It comes as household finance experts reveal bill payers are sitting on hundreds of pounds' worth of credit and call on them reclaim it before the end of the month.
Chris, 39, and his partner Tracey were deep in debt two years ago and desperately looking for ways to save money.
He decided to first take a look at his energy bills, and logged onto his online account with E.ON to see he was in credit by £1,100 on his dual-fuel tariff that he paid for by direct debit.
He phoned the firm's customer service team who told him to take a meter reading. Once submitted, it told him he could get an £872 refund.
He said: "I phoned E.ON and asked if I could take the credit, saying it was my money at the end of the day.
"They were quite respectful when I found out I was in credit and could issue the money.
"They said I should have a pot (of extra money) for winter but I decided to take the refund."
The updated meter reading also led to E.ON adjusting Chris and Tracey's monthly direct debit from around £200 to £130 - a £70 difference.
Chris first contacted E.ON about the refund in January and the money was in his bank account three weeks later.
But while the adjusted monthly direct debit was useful, Chris said it was the £872 lump sum that was the biggest help to the Essex family as it helped them write off their debt earlier than planned.
I chase refunds for a living - how to get your money back
They were in a Debt Management Plan (DMP) - when you pay off your debts to creditors, usually through a monthly payment to a debt management company - and the energy credit helped them close it early.
"It was immensely helpful," Chris said when asked how useful the refund was.
"At the time we were in a Debt Management Plan and it was meant to end in September 2024.
"But with the £872 plus with cutting costs in other areas, we finished it in April 2024.
"So we saved five months of payments which in turn was about £5,000 of payments.
"Having the little impact (of the refund) saved us more in the long run."
He added: "I do a meter reading every couple of months now just to see if we are paying too much or if we're not paying too much.
"I would always recommend to do it just so you can have a bit of breathing space."
Households sitting on £100s in energy credit
It comes as Nous.co warns households they could be owed hundreds of pounds in energy credit - and should check their bank balances before the end of May.
Research by the money-saving tool found almost half of households with traditional energy meters it recently surveyed aren't submitting regular readings.
Fail to submit regular meter readings and your energy company charges you an estimated bill based on what you paid the previous year - which can see you forking out more than you should be.
Nous says after a milder winter than expected, households will likely have built up much more credit than they need this spring - and should look at requesting a refund.
Nous experts suggest if your total credit balance this May is more than two thirds of what you usually pay each month, you are likely paying more than you need to and should ask for a refund and for your direct debit to be reduced.
As an example, if you have £400 credit in your account and you usually pay £100 a month, you should be fine to request one.
Meanwhile, consumer website moneysavingexpert.com says as long as you have over one months' worth of direct debit credit in May, you're safe to request a refund.
Greg Marsh, household finance expert and chief executive officer of Nous.co, said: 'No one should have a big credit balance built up in their energy account right now.
'Most suppliers won't automatically refund you if you've paid too much, and could be unfairly holding on to money that you're owed.
'If you've got a traditional meter and haven't submitted a reading in a while, you'll be paying bills based on estimates that could be significantly out after an unusually mild winter.
'Energy companies know how hard it is to stay on top of this stuff, and hope that we just put up with paying more than we need to."
How to request an energy refund
If you're in enough credit, requesting a refund is as simple as getting in touch with your supplier and asking for one.
You'll also find contact details for your supplier on a recent energy bill or can log into your online account if you don't get paper bills.
If you haven't submitted a recent meter reading, your supplier may ask you for one so it knows if what it is charging you is accurate.
If you aren't happy with its response, you can make a complaint via a dedicated page on its website.
If you want to write to them or send them an email, you can use the Citizens Advice complaints letter template.
How to submit a meter reading
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to submit an energy meter reading.
If you do have to submit a meter reading, which you don't have to do if you have a smart or prepayment meter, the easiest way is to take a photo of your gas and electricity meters.
Most suppliers will let you send in your meter reading online via your energy account.
Some providers will also let you send in the numbers by text or through their app.
Electricity meters
If you have a digital electricity meter then you will see a row of six numbers.
Five of them will be in black and one will be in red.
Write down the five numbers in black, which are shown from left to right.
If you are on an Economy 7 or 10 tariff, which gives you cheaper electricity at night, then you will have two rows of numbers.
You need both to take a reading.
If you have a traditional dial meter then you need to read the first five dials from left to right.
Ignore any red dials.
If the pointer is between two numbers then write down the lowest figure.
If it is between nine and zero then write down the number nine.
Gas meters
If you have a digital metric gas meter showing five numbers followed by a decimal point then you need to write down the first five numbers.
If you have a digital imperial meter then you will see two red numbers and four black numbers.
Write down the four black numbers only.
If you have a digital gas meter, follow the same steps as the digital electricity meter.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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