MARTIN Lewis has warned households not to bulk buy energy before April 1 after a major supplier u-turned.
He had told prepayment meter customers they would be charged a lower rate if they topped up before the price hike – but this won’t work for everyone.
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Gas and electricity prices are set to soar in April, adding more than £700 a year to bills for prepayment customers.
Martin Lewis had told Brits with prepayment meters – not including smart meters- that they could top up now to delay the price rise.
The money saving guru said all major energy firms, except for Scottish Power, had confirmed they would charge the old prices for top ups made before April 1.
But Eon has backtracked, saying customers will have to pay the new, higher rates for energy they use after April 1, regardless of when they bought it.
Martin also confirmed that the trick will only work with electricity meters and not with gas top ups.
Giving evidence to the Business Committee yesterday, Martin said: “We have an issue in the prepayment meter market.”
He said Money Saving Expert had told people to “top up now as much as you can, and when you get into April, until you top up again, the rates should remain at the pre-April price.”
“That was confirmed by Ofgem, originally confirmed by all companies except Scottish Power, which said it would add a debt on top,” he said.
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“Eon has now backtracked and it’s now saying ‘the information we gave you is not correct, we will look to recoup that from April 1’.”
An E.ON spokesperson confirmed that customers will be charged the new, higher rates from April.
The spokesperson said: “We answered the specific questions put to us at the time.
“Had we known exactly how this was going to be interpreted we would have been more detailed in how we explained the complexity of this issue.”
If you’re with a different supplier, you might still be able to bulk buy electricity before next month and be charged the lower rates.
But you should check with your supplier directly first to avoid being left out of pocket.
However, it will only work with electricity and not with gas.
Many prepayment customers are on a low income so it might not be possible for everyone to pay a lump sum towards their bills.
You should also be careful if you chose to stockpile and don’t use more energy than you usually do as this could end up costing you more.
What help can I get with my energy bills?
There is financial help available if you’re struggling to pay your energy bills.
First, you should make sure you’re getting all of the benefits that you’re entitled to.
You can use a benefits calculator to work out if you’re missing out on cash.
There are other schemes to support people with energy bills, including the cold weather payment and household support fund.
Meanwhile, the government has announced the every single household will get a £200 discount on their energy bill this year.
This is part of a package of support designed to help Brits struggling as costs rise and will be applied automatically, but not until October.
The money does have to be paid back, but it will be in the form of £40 added to annual bills over five years from next year.
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