If you’ve moved house or switched energy providers in the last five or so years, you could be entitled to a share of £240 million in unclaimed cash.
In the latest edition of his newsletter, Martin Lewis – who’s also back with a new series of his live ITV show – urged Brits to ‘do a quick check’ to see if they’re due a refund, after Ofgem revealed leftover balances on almost 2 million closed accounts.
According to Money Saving Expert (MSE), while many may only get ‘a few pounds’ back, some ‘could be owed more than £100 each’ — so it’s worth making sure.
The personal finance site explained that, under Ofgem rules, suppliers are required to issue a final bill within six weeks of a customer closing an account and refund any remaining balances within 10 working days.
As a result, more than 90% have credit automatically returned. But if the customer can’t be contacted (normally because they moved house or cancelled their direct debit before settling the account), the money sits waiting to be claimed.
If that’s the case for you, MSE says ‘you’ll need to act’ to have it reimbursed.
How to reclaim old energy account credit
Thankfully, it’s an easy enough process to get what you’re owed.
Logging into your old online account is a good place to start, as you should see any credit in the ‘balance’ section or on the main landing page.
‘The way this is displayed can vary between suppliers, but if it’s anything other than £0.00, you may be owed,’ writes MSE. ‘Especially if the amount in pounds and pence is followed by the word “credit” or the letters “CR”.’
If you don’t have an online account, can’t remember the details or can’t log in for any reason, your best bet is to get in touch with the supplier directly and explain the situation.
Find old energy suppliers
Can’t remember which provider (or providers) you’ve been a customer of over the years? MSE recommends these three steps:
- Search emails and texts, looking for energy bills or correspondence
- Check your password manager or saved passwords, as ‘if you had an online account with the firm, you may still have the password saved.’
- Look up your credit report to see if any closed utility accounts show up on your file next to old addresses.
They may ask for information like the account number, but according to Alastair Douglas, CEO of TotallyMoney, ‘an address should be enough if you don’t have your old bills’.
If there is credit left, you then just ask for it to be refunded, provide your up-to-date details so the supplier can do so, and wait for it to come through.
Ofgem will never contact energy customers directly about credit they may be owed, but it’s important to be aware that fraudsters are known to target people for their personal details by pretending to be the regulator.
MSE warns: ‘If you get a call, text or email out of the blue claiming to be from Ofgem, don’t respond to it or click any links – it’s likely a scam.’
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