Energy firms bill one in four households incorrectly

The figures, relating to the last two years, also show that 14 per cent of households have been billed wrongly on more than one occasion.

Errors in billing have meant that households that had thought they had paid off what was owed end up having to fork out more money at a later date.

Over 9 million households have unexpectedly ended up owing money to their energy supplier following discrepancies.

The average amount owed comes in at £152 – a £5 increase on last year when people ended up owing £147 on average as a result of inaccurate billing.

The report was undertaken by independent price comparison website uSwitch.com, which also carried out a poll in which consumers named energy suppliers as one of the biggest culprits for erroneous billing.

The energy industry was voted worst for inaccuracy, ahead of banks, council departments, credit card companies and other utility companies – only the Inland Revenue trumps it for getting bills wrong.

There has also been a growing trend of households providing their energy supplier with meter readings in the last six months – a 2 per cent increase on 2011.

Ann Robinson, the website’s director of consumer policy, said: “Consumers are paying hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year on household bills – the least they should expect is for these bills to be accurate. Billing blunders can cause consumers to end up out of pocket, as well as wasting time and effort trying to get the issue resolved.”

People having to part with more money after being incorrectly billed could have an adverse effect on the declining number of those owing money to gas and electricity firms.

Last week, it was reported that almost four million households – 14 per cent of the total – are in debt to their energy supplier, down from 19 per cent last year.

But those customers who are still in debt the majority are worse off, with the average amount owed 4 per cent higher than last year – at £131 – and 15 per cent up on 2008. This reflects a 53 per cent rise in fuel bills.

Britain’s energy suppliers are now owed £478m, with a third of those in debt owing more than they did a year ago and 13 per cent less.