British households could face a potential bill of £172 million in total from the collapse of 11 energy suppliers since the beginning of 2018, according to Citizens Advice.
Citizens Advice, a network of independent charities across the UK, said on Friday that British energy customers are facing a potential bill of £172 million from the collapse of various suppliers since January of last year.
Additionally, a new report by Citizens Advice also reveals that thousands of people who owed money to failed suppliers missed out on consumer protections and instead faced aggressive debt collection methods.
The government must “fix the protection gap” and shield customers who owe money to failed energy companies, ensuring consumer interests are upheld.
It is estimated that at the very least, 32,000 have been left open to potentially aggressive debt collection methods by the administrators of these collapsed energy companies.
“Consumers shouldn’t have to foot the multi-million pound bill left behind when companies collapse – and they certainly shouldn’t lose their usual protections in the process,” Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, commented.
“The Energy White Paper is the perfect opportunity for the government to close the gap in protections and limit the cost to consumers of any future supplier failures. It must act now,” the Chief Executive continued.
As the failed supplier is taken over by administrators, Ofgem’s Supplier of Last Resort appoints a new supplier to customers whose original energy supplier has failed.
These administrators are not subject to the same rules as suppliers licensed by Ofgem, Citizens Advice emphasised, and are therefore allowed to use more aggressive debt collection methods.
Citizens Advice wants the government to fix the protection gap for customers impacted by the collapse of energy suppliers, as well as ensuring that administrators consider consumer interests and are subject to the same rules as suppliers.
Earlier in May, it was reported that thousands of households face an increase of up to £362 per year in energy bills. This increase comes as over 60 fixed-price contracts are set to end.
Moreover, 5.8 million households switched electricity supplier in 2018 amid price hikes.