Power companies can raise the tariff on your bill for two months before they have to tell you

Published 29th Sep 2009

A power bill scam that lets suppliers put up tariffs without telling customers for up to 65 days has been slammed by a leading consumer group.

The controversial rules have been highlighted by Which?, which is calling on the industry regulator Ofgem or the Government to ban the tactic.

The current regime means that a family or business can be paying a high gas or electricity tariff for more than two months without any knowledge.

The delay in notification could also rob the customer of the opportunity to shop around for a cheaper deal.

Experts at Which? believe the current rules, which apply across all power supplies, could even be illegal. As such, people whose tariffs have been raised in the past without any prior notice may be able to launch a legal test case claim for substantial refunds.

The courts and the Office of Fair Trading have previously made clear that contracts are unfair if they allow a company to increase a charge without notice.


Which? said the scam is part of a wider problem where consumers are not given the information they need to decide on the best-value deals.

It is also concerned that customers who switch supplier are not given a guarantee that the tariff they want will last for more than a day or a week.

Which? is calling for a new customer to be guaranteed the new tariff for a minimum of several months.

Dr Fiona Cochrane, senior policy adviser at Which?, said: 'Surely it's not unreasonable for people to be warned in advance of price increases or for their new tariff to be guaranteed for at least the time it takes to switch supplier?

'If Ofgem won't address this, the Government must step in.'

The Energy Retailers Association, which speaks for power suppliers, does not support changes to the notice periods on tariff changes.

Its chief executive, Garry Felgate, said: 'Energy suppliers often notify their customers earlier than the set time period. The most relevant way for customers to hear about a price change, either up or down, is on their energy bill.

Source: ' Daily Mail '

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