The Warm This Winter coalition launched the Big Energy Credit Claim Back in May 2024, a mass action urging households to reclaim unused credit held by their energy suppliers. More than 20,000 customers joined, and bill payers claimed back an average of £3301. The campaign is set to end on 1 July, when households begin saving again for winter1.
The action followed research published by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, which found UK energy suppliers were sitting on over £3 billion of customer credit, with nearly a third of UK households (32 per cent) in credit to their supplier all year1. Analysis of Ofgem customer credit data, based on a standard NatWest business savings account offering 4.25 per cent interest, put the combined bank interest suppliers earned on those balances at £159,024,375 in 20232. Ofgem's own data shows credit balances ranging from £2.3 billion to £5.1 billion during a year2.
Among those who reclaimed, 56 per cent were paid quickly, 17 per cent waited a fortnight or more, 12 per cent were still waiting at the time of polling and 12 per cent were refused despite being in credit. A further 28 per cent never attempted to claim1. On direct debits, 26 per cent felt their payments had been set too high, with OVO highest at 31 per cent, followed by British Gas and Eon Next at 29 per cent and EDF at 28 per cent1.
The campaign was backed by 38 Degrees, the National Pensioners Convention and Fuel Poverty Action1. Warm This Winter spokesperson Fiona Waters said:
"People are fed up with energy suppliers keeping hold of their cash, making millions in interest on it and then customers often struggle to get their money back from reluctant suppliers."
The coalition is calling on the next government and Ofgem to introduce automatic credit returns after each winter1. The campaign guidance states that customers should not cancel their direct debits, as doing so could lead to higher unit costs, and warns that claiming back credit could lead to higher direct debit payments in the summer2. The final bills and credit refunds process is not automatic under current rules, and the onus is on the customer to claim1.
Why it matters for households
Credit held by a supplier is a household's own money, built up through direct debits set above actual use. For a home, that balance is money unavailable for other bills, and the interest it earns sits with the supplier rather than the customer1. The polling suggests reclaiming is not straightforward for everyone: nearly a third of bill payers found getting credit back difficult, and 12 per cent were refused despite being in credit1. Over a third of people in permanent credit live in low income households, which the End Fuel Poverty Coalition says may have cut back on energy or other essentials because direct debits were set too high1. The energy suppliers and household energy independence relationship turns on exactly this: whether a household controls its own money and understands how its payments are calculated. A third of direct debit payers (33 per cent) found understanding how their direct debits were calculated difficult, and 32 per cent found it hard to understand how much energy they use1.
What happens next
The campaign is set to end on 1 July, when households need to start saving again for winter1. The coalition is calling on the next government and Ofgem to introduce an automatic credit return after each winter1. The End Fuel Poverty Coalition said it hopes the regulator introduces a new licence condition requiring credit balances to be refunded after each winter on an opt-out basis1. No date has been reported for any decision by Ofgem or by government.
Sources2 cited
- Two-thirds of bill payers call for automatic energy credit refunds - End Fuel Poverty Coalition, endfuelpoverty.org.uk
- Low income households over-charged for energy direct debits, endfuelpoverty.org.uk