Founder of Money Saving Expert website, Martin Lewis, issued advice for all households to submit a meter reading before the price cap increase last week.
April 1 saw household energy bills rise by a staggering 54%. This means that about 22 million households will be seeing a massive jump of an average £700/year on their outgoings.
Martin warned people ‘not to panic’ as customers rushed to submit meter readings before Friday’s price jump. But on the day of the price increases, energy supplier websites crashed meaning that many people weren’t able to submit readings on the day.
READ MORE: Martin Lewis’ dire warning to those on fixed rate energy tariffs
Now, the Money Saving Expert team have released their most up to date newsletter. In it, the team state that there is ‘still time’ to submit a reading if you haven’t already.
It reassured homeowners as it said: “With record numbers flocking to supplier websites to do a reading before the price cap increased, many firms’ website and mobile apps faced technical issues – leaving people unable to submit meter readings. If you struggled, don’t panic. All the major providers we spoke to told us customers can submit meter readings they took on Thursday 31 March until the end of the week (some give even longer, but it’s best to do it as soon as possible to be on the safe side).
“If you didn’t take a meter reading before the price cap increased, don’t worry. You can still take one now or in the next few days – but the nearer you do it to the price cap change the better, so just get it in as soon as you can.”
If you’re on a standard tariff, doing a meter reading as soon as possible reduces the risk firms will wrongly allocate any of your pre-rise usage to the new higher cost. It will also ensure that your bill will not be estimated, and will be based on actual usage instead.
What is happening where you live? Find out by adding your postcode or visit InYourArea
