ENERGY firm E.ON has angered customers after blaming MoneySavingExpert’s Martin Lewis for its website crashing.
Households are scrambling to submit meter readings today before the energy price cap rises, with supplier’s websites struggling under the increased demand.
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Millions of households are set to see their energy bills rise from tomorrow when the price cap increases to almost £2,000.
MoneySavingExpert Martin Lewis is one of many experts who’ve urged households to submit a meter reading today ahead of the price cap rising tomorrow.
Energy firm E.ON Next, part of the E.ON energy company, responded to a complaint about its website being down by blaming the money guru.
The tweet, which has now been deleted, said: “Martin has once again created unprecedented demand bringing down Britain.”
Customers jumped to defend the popular money guru on Twitter.
One said: “His tip to read your meter today, which has been picked up everywhere, is actually for the benefit of Britain’s consumers.”
Another said: “Nice to see that @EON_NEXT have the money to spend their time criticising Martin Lewis for trying to help people, while they themselves can’t be bothered to pay for a working website…”
The tweet has also inspired comments linked to actor Will Smith and Chris Rock’s infamous Oscar conflict, with a user stating: “Get Martin Lewis’ name out your mouth.”
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E.ON have since blamed the tweet on a sense of humour failure.
It said: “…looks like our sense of humour missed the mark.”
Mr Lewis is yet to respond to E.ON – but he has been offering further guidance to customers on social media.
In a video posted on Twitter he said: “But surprise surprise, many of the energy firms are struggling to cope with demand even though they had plenty of notice that this was coming and lots of people are in panic.”
He added that readings for households on smart meters and prepayment meters are not crucial.
“If you are on a smart meter or prepayment meter, well you don’t give meter readings, smart meters they do it automatically for you, prepayment meters you top up,” he said.
“But I would still take a picture – get your phone out – of your meter today, just in case of a future dispute”.
Supplier websites such as Eon’s, British Gas and Scottish’s Power’s have all experienced glitches and crashes today due to the sheer number of users.
Many customers have been unable to login and submit meter readings online and users have taken to Twitter to complain.
An E.ON spokesperson said: “This was an ill-considered and off the cuff remark made by one of our Energy Specialists and in no way reflects our position.
“We have an excellent working relationship with Martin Lewis and his team, and we apologise for any offence caused.
“We ourselves have spent the past few weeks advising customers to submit accurate meter readings ahead of April 1st.
“We are seeing unprecedented volumes of customer traffic to our website and app.
“While we work to resolve this, we can confirm to our customers that any meter readings they take today can be updated to their account online in the coming days.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Smart meter customers do not need to do anything as their readings will automatically be shared with us.”
What happens if you can’t submit it today?
Taking a meter reading today means you will have a record of the energy you have used under old price cap rate.
It is still possible to submit a reading taken today at a later date though.
You should still take a picture of your meter reading and keep checking if your suppliers’ website is back up and running if you are experiencing issues.
Most firms will let you submit it tomorrow or another day and backdate it to March 31.
Just make sure you have taken a picture as evidence.
Some suppliers have also told customers to send them a direct message on social media with their meter readings while websites have crashed.
Those on a fixed tariff don’t need to take a meter reading, as the price won’t rise tomorrow.
Energy users will also get a £200 rebate on their bills this October to help offset some of the gas and electricity price rises.
You will need to pay this back from April 2023 though, with an extra £40 a year being added to bills for five years.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has also announced a £150 council tax discount for millions of households in an attempt to ease the cost of living crisis.
Your local council may be able to help with cash and grants if you are struggling with bills through the Household Support Scheme.
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