In the last five years Big Six energy customers on Standard Variable Tariffs (SVT) have overpaid by £11.42 billion, according to new research by Octopus Energy.
This comes after Ofgem published the supplier standard variable tariff league table, showing that more than half of Big Six customers are on rip off SVT tariffs.
New analysis by Octopus Energy shows that non-prepayment customers have paid a shocking £11.41 billion more than if they had been on the best Big Six tariff.
Octopus Energy also found that Big Six customers had paid over £15.51 billion more than if they’d been on the best tariff on the market.
Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy has commented:
“Energy suppliers have developed an incredible expertise at hiding prices in impenetrable bill statements, masking real costs behind static direct debits, trapping customers with exit fees and confusing customers with debt.
“This is not fair and it is not just. Energy companies need to treat customers with respect, rather than using all the tricks in the book to short change them.”
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Notes to Editor
The calculations are available here and all the data used is from Ofgem. The methodology is:
- Calculate the number of non-prepayment electric and gas meter points with each supplier
- Calculate how many of these meter points were on an SVT
- Calculated the difference in price between SVT and Cheap deals
- Multiplied the number of SVT meter points by the difference to get the total overpaid.
For journalists in their professional capacity only. Issued by Octopus Energy Ltd. Registered office: 33 Holborn, London, EC1N 2HT. Registered in England and Wales No. 09263424. Issued: November 2017.