The Money Savings Expert has shared a handy tip which could help people with prepayment energy metres save money. It comes as the energy price cap is due to rise on Friday (April 1) by 54 percent.
The average household on default tariffs will see their bills increase by £693 a year, while those using prepayment metres will see an hike of £708, according to regulator Ofgem. While hosting a special edition of Good Morning Britain on Wednesday (30 March), Martin Lewis advised prepayment customers on how to avoid back charges from their energy companies.
He urged people to take a photo of their prepayment metre on Thursday (31 March), the day before the energy cap rise is due. The Money Saving Expert explained: "If you do try and do what you can to top up right now and it doesn't work, you don't actually lose out because you're only paying the rate once you get into April, but you might lose out on your cash flow.
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"One big thing I would say to you - especially if you're trying this trick - is: go and take a photo of your prepayment metre on 31 March. So if they do try and back charge you, you can say, 'well, I know exactly what I was using until that date.' And e-mail it to yourself so you've got a timestamp on your photo, so you can prove it was 31 March."
The energy price cap isn’t an absolute cap on bills, as its name suggests - instead, it sets a limit on the rates a supplier can charge for each unit of gas and electricity you use. It is important to send regular meter readings, otherwise your energy supplier will estimate your usage and you could end up being overcharged, reports the Mirror.
A digital meter will show five numbers in black or white, and might be followed by one or more red numbers. To send a meter reading, you'll need to send the first five numbers shown from left to right (you can ignore any red numbers) to your energy supplier.
You should be able to do this over the phone, online or through an app.
