Big Energy Credit Claim Back: Other

What is the Big Energy Credit Claim Back?

The Big Energy Credit Claim Back is a campaign that 38 Degrees is running in partnership with the Warm This Winter coalition, of which we are a member, to help households reclaim their unused energy credit from energy suppliers.

If you have additional questions, get in touch at info@warmthiswinter.org.uk

The more of us who claim back, the more we’ll show energy companies that we won’t put up with them hoarding our cash during this cost of living crisis!

How does it work?

If you pay your energy bills by direct debit, you can claim back any credit you may have overpaid throughout the previous year.

Different companies have different ways to do this, so Warm this Winter has done the research and compiled individual steps for each company – but all of them require you to have up-to-date meter readings. Most also offer assistance if you need help with the process.

Whoever your energy supplier is, the following important warnings must be understood in all cases:

• Do not cancel your direct debit. This may result in the price you pay for your energy going up.
• By taking back the credit you are owed, this may increase your direct debits going forward as many suppliers create an excess buffer, but you will be able to get that back if you are in credit after next winter.
• There is also a danger that if you haven’t supplied regular meter readings that you may not be in credit and could end up owing your supplier more money.

Ofgem, the industry regulator, says that energy companies must give you back the credit you’re owed within two weeks.

Medium Sized Suppliers:

Information sourced from suppliers website

SSE

If your gas or electricity bill is showing a credit balance, you may be eligible for a refund. If you’re a direct debit customer and have a recurring credit balance each month, please contact SSE with your current meter reading and they will reassess your monthly payments.

How to get a refund
To ensure your account credit balance is correct, please contact SSE with the following information:

• A current meter reading – this will be used to ensure your account is billed up to date for the correct energy.
• Details of any other gas or electricity accounts you have with SSE – if you have any other business accounts, SSE will discuss your options, such as transferring your credit to one of your other accounts that may have a debit.

If your credit balance is correct, SSE can issue a refund using one of the following methods:

• If you pay by direct debit, they will attempt to refund the balance direct to your bank account.
• If you pay by any other method, the credit can be refunded by cheque.
• If your payments have been made by credit or debit card, SSE will attempt to refund direct to the card(s).

All refunds should be processed within 10 working days from the date you contact SSE. SSE’s Customer Service team will be in touch if your refund is delayed.

If you wish to verify your credit balance, please contact SSE with a current meter reading. If you believe your monthly payments are too high or low based on your usage, SSE check this and adjust your regular payments if required, or issue a partial or full refund.

Npower

Re-directs to EON Next (npower Business Solutions does not provide energy for homes. Npower does not hold any accounts, information or services for home energy. If you are a customer who was previously with npower for your energy at home, you have been moved to E.ON Next, who offer specialist services, designed to support you. Please visit the E.ON Next site for support, and all the information you need about home energy, from your existing account to new quotes).

Avro
Avro has been moved to Octopus:

Ofgem have appointed Octopus Energy to take over your energy supply from Avro Energy.
Your energy supply will not be interrupted or affected in any way. Any credit balance you have with Avro is safe, protected by regulation, and will be transferred to your Octopus Energy account.

So Energy

Getting a refund if you are currently a So Energy customer
So Energy can offer refunds to customers with excess credit in their accounts. Please note, So Energy might do a direct debit review first to make sure you’re paying the right amount, the refund needs to be at least £30 and the following conditions must be met:

• If you pay seasonal adjusted Direct Debit payments, So Energy need to hold at least one month’s payment amount which will be different based on the time of the year you request the refund. Summer payments are between April and September, and winter payments are between October and March.
• If you pay equal Direct Debit payments each month, So Energy need to hold at least one month’s payment during Summer (March-August), and two months during colder months of the year (September-February). You can switch to seasonal payments. Find out more in So Energy’s guide to Seasonal Direct Debit Payments.
• So Energy must have up-to-date meter readings for So Energy to accurately confirm the balance of the account.

For larger refunds around or over £500:

• If you have a smart meter and your latest statement reflects smart reads for all meters, there is no need to send So Energy a photo or read.
• If you have a smart meter but your latest statement doesn’t reflect a smart meter reading, then So Energy will need a photo of your meter from the last 30 days to confirm your reading and the meter serial number sent to help@so.energy
• If you don’t have a smart meter, So Energy will need a photo of all your meters within the last 30 days showing your readings and the meter serial numbers sent to help@so.energy. You can book a free smart meter install by heading to the booking portal from your online account.
• No access to the booking portal? Register your interest for a smart meter install, here.

Getting a refund if you have recently renewed with So Energy

If you’ve just renewed, you may request for any overpayment on your previous tariff agreement to be refunded back to you. So Energy will need up-to-date meter reads and for the final statement of your previous tariff agreement to have been produced.

The amount remaining in your So Energy account after the refund must be at least one month’s (new) payment amount, just like if you were a new customer. Please contact So Energy if you believe you have overpaid.

Getting a refund if you have recently left So Energy
So Energy will process a refund once your account is fully closed, please don’t cancel your Direct Debit as So Energy will need to refund you into this same account.

To fully close an account, So Energy need your final meter readings from your new supplier in order to generate the final bill. The meter readings don’t come directly to So Energy from your new supplier so the process usually takes a few weeks.

Once So Energy have the above, and have generated your final bill, they’ll process the refund and, in almost every case, you’ll have the money refunded into the same account you use for Direct Debit within 14 days. As above, please don’t cancel the Direct Debit as it may delay So Energy in refunding you.

Small sized suppliers

Boost energy
Closed in May 2023 was an offshoot of OVO and PAYG

Bristol Energy
The company supplied gas and electricity to domestic and business customers across the United Kingdom. In September 2020, Bristol Energy became a brand of Together Energy, until the latter ceased to trade in January 2022.

Bryt Energy
Please ensure an actual meter reading has been submitted, rather than an estimated meter read, if this is what has used on your recent invoice.

As long as Bryt Energy has billed you up to date with actual readings and all balances across your accounts with them are paid in full, then please email heretohelp@brytenergy.co.uk to request your refund. Please note refund payments, once approved, usually take 3-5 working days to be returned to your account from the date the refund is submitted.

If you make your payments via Direct Debit, your refund will be processed and returned to you through the same Direct Debit mandate which is used to make payment to Bryt Energy.

If you make your payments via BACS, Bryt Energy will require evidence of your banking details to enable them to process your refund request. Please send a copy of your letterheaded banking details to heretohelp@brytenergy.co.uk so they can process your request. It is important this documentation is provided so that they can validate your request, and a delay in receipt of this document may result in a delay in a refund of any credit balances owed to you.

YourCoopEnergy
Since August 2019, energy supply, billing and customer service of Co-op Energy have been operated by Octopus Energy.

Ebico
Moved to Octopus in April 2023.

Ecotricity
In mid 2021, it was announced that GRIDSERVE had purchased the remaining stake from Ecotricity, taking full ownership of the charging network.

Good Energy
If your account is in credit, any customer can ask for a refund at any time. Your account balance is always available on your statements and via your online account, so you can see how much credit or debit is on your account.

When processing a refund Good Energy consider a few things:

1. They must have received an accurate meter reading within the last 14 days. This is to make sure that your credit balance is accurate.
2. If the requested refund amount will put your account into debt, then it will be declined.
3. Good Energy will recommend keeping credit in your account to support you to manage peaks in costs better (e.g.the winter period) but ultimately the credit is yours and will be fully refunded if requested.

If you pay by Direct Debit, Good Energy will also assess your target balance. This is the level of credit that needs to be maintained on your account to stop it going into debt whilst your energy use fluctuates over the year, as explained above. This will help them to calculate the excess credit that they recommend should be refunded to you, or if this credit will be needed to cover your winter usage. If they do advise you to keep an amount of credit on your account this is a recommendation, and provided they have up to date meter reads, they will still process a refund if you would prefer.
Good Energy say they will only ever make changes to your Direct Debit where necessary and appropriate.

Green Star Energy
Taken over by Shell in 2019.

M&S Energy
Taken over by Octopus 2023.

OutFoxTheMarket
When should I request a refund?
If you have built up an amount of credit in your energy account that surpasses the amount of your monthly direct debit, OutFoxTheMarket are able to process a refund request for you.

Do I need to do anything to make sure a credit refund request is successful?
To ensure you receive your credit refund, OutFoxTheMarket ask that you supply meter readings for gas and electricity within 30 days of the request. This may be done automatically by your SMART meter or will have to be added to your account manually.

When is the best time to make a credit refund request?
The best time to request a refund is after your most recent invoice has been taken from your account as this will give you the most accurate representation of how much you will receive for your credit refund and ensures that the likelihood of having a refund declined is minimised.
How do I request a refund on my account?
If your account has a surplus of credit, you can get in contact with OutFoxTheMarket’s customer service team who will be able to check whether you are eligible for a credit refund.

You can do this phoning OutFoxTheMarket on 0800 103 2702 or sending them an email on hello@outfoxthemarket.co.uk

Sainsbury’s energy
Moved to EON next

How can I share this with others?
The more of us who claim back, the more we’ll show energy companies that we won’t put up with them hoarding our cash during this cost of living crisis! Click here to sign and share this action with your friends and family to force energy companies to take notice.