Energy bill debts warning

Thousands of people with estimated gas and electric bills have contacted the Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB) when they racked up arrears because they thought their direct debits were covering their energy costs.

In the worst cases people have found themselves owing up to £1,000, the BBC reports.

The CAB blames the problem on rising energy costs and billing issues.

Spokesman Tony Herbert told the broadcaster that with more hikes in energy costs expected this winter, the problem was likely to get worse.

"Families can rack up huge fuel bills without even realising it because the amount they're paying is actually based on estimated readings," he said. "They might have a direct debit set up; they might think they're paying their bills. But because they're paying on estimated readings it may not reflect how much they're actually using."

The gas and electricity watchdog Energywatch told the broadcaster a third of all energy bills are estimated and could therefore be wrong.

Spokesman Adam Scorer said: "They're not based on real meter readings, they're not based on real consumption data. You can just imagine the problems that will come out from the fact that a third of bills in Britain are by and large wrong."

Industry body the Energy Retail Association said the majority of the 200 million bills its members send out every year are correct.