Martin Lewis has pinpointed the best time Brits should take their meter readings amid what he labelled a government ‘miscommunication’ on the energy price cap.
The Money Saving Expert founder declared it ‘Meter Reading Week’ as he spoke with Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard on Thursday morning.
Martin also said Liz Truss made a ‘miscommunication’ when she claimed ‘no household’ will pay more than £2,500 on energy bills after she said: “We've made sure that no family, no household is having to pay more than £2,500 on those energy bills”.
In fact, Martin explained, the £2,500 figure refers to the amount a household will pay based on an Ofcom average energy usage. Depending on property type and energy usage, some households will pay more than this, although some will pay less.
He said: “If you use more, you will pay more. It is not a cap on total cost.”
Martin then explained how this relates to meter readings, as the ‘vast majority’ of people will see their prices change on Saturday, October 1.
“For 85 percent of people in England, Scotland and Wales, their prices are going up by 27 percent. For some of the rest they’re going down if you’re on a fixed rate,” he said.
“Doing a meter reading around the time prices are changing puts you in a position that there will be no discrepancy between spending and your direct debit.”
However, Martin also said he has labelled it ‘Meter Reading Week’ after pinpointing an exact day to do so in April, which led to websites crashing and phone lines at capacity.
“I’ll take some of the blame for that one,” he said. “I don’t want that to happen this time.
People get frustrated, people in the call centres get abused and most importantly, it stops vulnerable people calling their energy company.”
He explained: “Do it today, do it tomorrow, do it the next day. Most firms let you submit the readings up to a week and in some cases two weeks after the date.
“You don’t need to do a reading if you’re on a smart meter that works, on a prepayment meter or you’re on a very cheap fix where the price won't be changing.
“Everybody else should be doing a meter reading. Get it done in the next few days and submit it in the next two weeks.”
