Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis plans to publish the results of a massive online survey after energy companies were accused of overcharging customers through their direct debits. The decision comes after Mr Lewis gave evidence to Parliament about the 'very important' issue.
Energy companies are increasingly hitting headlines with the huge increase in gas and energy prices affecting customers up and down the country. It is estimated that customers will pay an extra £700 per year on average following the price hikes.
But Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng today revealed that some energy companies have been accused of taking more money from customers than they need. He took to Twitter to explain the situation.
READ MORE: Martin Lewis' warning over inflation rising
He said: "Some energy suppliers have been increasing Direct Debits beyond what is required. I can confirm @Ofgem has today issued Compliance Reviews.
"Suppliers have three weeks to respond. The regulator will not hesitate to swiftly enforce compliance, including issuing substantial fines."
Ofgem (the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets) is Great Britain's independent energy regulator. It works to protect energy customers by making sure energy companies are operating correctly and fairly. If companies act unfairly or break the law, Ofgem can fine the firms.
Martin Lewis recently spoke to the parliamentary business committee about his concerns that some energy companies may be charging customers more through their direct debits than they need to. Mr Lewis's website Money Saving Expert asked its readers to fill out a survey about the practice and the website received more than 20,000 responses.
Retweeting Mr Kwarteng's comments, Mr Lewis said: "Pleased the evidence I gave to the parliamentary Biz Committee on this about a month ago has finally picked up. This is very important. MSE has data on over 20,000 survey responses to our unfair direct debit survey, we're analysing and will publish results soon."
