MARTIN Lewis has revealed a seven-step method to fight soaring energy bills and save you £1,000s.
The Money Saving Expert said there are simple checks Brits can make now to lower their energy bills.
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His co-host Jeanette Kwayke showed a tweet from Margaret about her rapidly increasing rates.
Her tweet read: “My husband and I are over 70 & our energy bills are going up from £146 per month, to around £404 per month.
“I hear that the average price per year should be £208 a month – we’ve always been in credit at the old rate, so why is ours going up so much?”
In response, Martin advised: “If you are on monthly Direct Debit, check that you’re not overpaying.
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“Rates dropped on the October 1 but many Direct Debits have still risen.
“So do an up-to-date meter reading. Make sure you are not in energy debt. That’s another reason for it going up.
“Go online and use a ‘is my Direct Debit correct?’ calculator where you put in your annual usage and it will tell you roughly what you should be paying.
“If it’s too high, you have a right to a fair Direct Debit. So you politely get on the phone and ask ‘can you justify why the Direct Debit is so high when I’m not using anywhere near that much?’.
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“If they refuse to, you can take them to the energy ombudsman.
“Another alternative – what a lot of people do is they go onto pay in receipt of bills.
“That’s where you get a bill and pay afterwards. The problem with that is it costs 7 per cent more.
“If you really want to do that, try and go onto variable Direct Debit which is at the same rate as normal Direct Debit.”
It comes after he revealed how “hidden” boiler switches can slash thousands from your energy bills.
Martin explained how homeowners with a combi boiler can save £65 annually by slightly tweaking their flow temperature.
The flow temperature on your boiler is the temperature of the water that your boiler sends to your radiators.
Reducing the temperature means your boiler is using less gas to heat the hot water, saving money on your bills.
