Energy giant E.on has sparked a bizarre Twitter row after it blamed Martin Lewis for causing its website to crash.
Today (March 31) has been dubbed “meter reading day” after the MoneySavingExpert founder urged households to make a note of their energy consumption before the Ofgem price cap rises.
But the advice saw the websites and phone lines for all the major energy firms crash, as thousands of households tried to supply a meter reading.
The websites of British Gas, E.on, Scottish Power and SSE all had problems today, according to the website DownDetector.
Twitter followers took to the defence of Martin this afternoon after energy firm E.on blamed the MSE chief for "bringing down Britain" in a reply to one customer.
The tweet, which has since been deleted and was sent from the official E.on NEXT account, read: "Unfortunately the website and phone lines of every supplier are being hammered today.
"Martin has once again created unprecedented demand bringing down Britain.
"If you respond to our private message providing the details requested then we can assist."
Are you worried about paying your energy bills? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
One person who saw the tweet said: "Pretty outrageous to see @eon_next casually blaming @MartinSLewis for 'bringing down Britain' when his tip to read your meter today (which has been picked up everywhere) is actually for the benefit of Britain's consumers (tweet has since been deleted ofc)."
Another simply replied to Martin, saying: "The cheek of them blaming it on you!"
A third tweeted: "Wonder why @eon_next deleted this tweet having a dig at @MartinSLewis.
"These energy firms have been messaging users to get our readings in today! Not really Martin's fault their servers aren't up to the job."
A spokesperson from E.On apologised for any offence caused to the MSE founder in a statement released today.
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 1."
Martin also later replied to the tweet, saying: "On the E.on tweet - I think it was someone trying to be funny - who forgot that you can't do a wry smile in Twitter. Rather than anyone actually suggesting I'm 'breaking Britain'.
"I'm always forgiving of human error (as I make 'em myself).So let's move on. Nowt to see here 'gov."
Martin has been advising households to provide a meter reading so they can avoid their energy usage being overestimate by their provider.
The idea is that you can tell your energy provider exactly how much gas and electricity you used before the price cap increases at midnight.
This means any energy used up until March 31 will be charged at a lower price, rather than the higher rate kicking in.
For those on a default tariff who pay by direct debit, the Ofgem price cap is going up by £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 from April 1.
Prepayment customers will see a bigger jump, with their price cap going up by £708, from £1,309 to £2,017.
Complaints about submitting a meter reading appeared to start from around 8am with most energy providers experiencing issues.
Almost all the problems are that customers cannot log in or use the energy companies' websites.
