Ofgem issues energy bill advice to customers after British Gas, EON and Scottish Power websites crash before price rise
OFGEM has issued energy bill advice to customers experiencing issues with logging their meter readings after its sites crashed.
Customers were warned to submit their meter readings before the energy price cap goes up tomorrow causing a surge in web traffic.
People have been scrambling to submit their meter readings in a hope to lower their power bills before charges increase.
The high numbers of customers attempting to submit their meter readings to avoid spending more money on electricity has crashed energy providers’ websites.
Companies including British Gas, E.On and Scottish Power saw an increase in online users causing their web platforms crash.
Ofgem announced on Twitter it was aware of people having difficulty online.
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They said: “We are aware some energy suppliers are having trouble with their websites today, affecting people being able to submit meter readings or access their online account. We are engaging with suppliers on the issue.
“Consumers who experience issues should contact their supplier straight away, and take a picture of their meter reading if high contact volumes mean they are unable to get through.
“Suppliers must take all reasonable steps to provide ways for consumers to access their account information, including submitting meter reading.”
Hundreds of British Gas customers are also reporting issues getting online according to the complaints tracking website, while Scottish Power customers are being hit by website crashes too.
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British Gas posted a message to its website, saying: “Some technical issues we’re trying to resolve as quickly as possible.”
SSE customers are also running into difficulties while EDF, Octopus, Ovo and Shell customers are complaining of website glitches on social media too.
Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis tweeted earlier today: “I’m getting many many reports of people struggling to submit meter readings. The volume isn’t unexpected.
“Firms should’ve been better prepared. It’s not good enough @ofgem please can you look into this.”
Millions of households will see their bills DOUBLE from Friday, April 1, when the price cap goes up from £1,277 to £1,971.
Shell customer Anne-Marie Stevens, 49, from Suffolk, told The Sun that it took her 40 minutes just to get through to the supplier’s website and log her meter reading.
An error message popped up on her screen saying that there was scheduled website maintenance work taking place, which is why the site was down.
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“It seems wrong they are scheduling maintenance on the day that lots of people are submitting meter readings,” she said.
“It took me 40 minutes – it was really frustrating.”