Liverpool one of worst areas for people being ripped off for prepay meter bills
It's been revealed people on a prepayment energy meter are being charged an extra £226 on average a year, compared to those paying direct debit.
The latest research, carried out by the Citizens Advice Bureau, has revealed that prepayment meter customers pay on average £226 a year extra for the cost of their energy compared to the cheapest direct debit tariff.
In Liverpool, 70,576 households use prepayment meters which represents a loss of £15,950,176 per year when compared with the cheapest alternative.
At 33%, the city has a very high concentration of households which use this method to pay their energy bills – almost twice the North West average of 17%. Across the UK, the national average for the amount of households which use prepayment meters is 15% for electric and 17% for gas.
Given that one in five prepayment meter users are already in fuel poverty, this issue impacts those who can least afford it.
Wavertree MP Luciana Berger is backing a new campaign which calling for a clamp down on the cost of prepayment meters as a means for paying energy bills saying;
‘It is a national scandal that the poorest households are forced to pay the most for their energy bills.
‘This is particularly concerning at a time when the cost of energy is falling but bills continue to rise. With many families struggling to make ends meet, it is appalling that these savings are ending up in the pockets of the energy companies.
‘The Government must take real action to make sure these savings are passed on to consumers. I encourage everyone to get behind this campaign and sign the petition.’
Thousands of people have so far signed the petition .