A Simple Guide to Your Rights as an Energy Customer
When you pay an energy supplier, you are not simply buying gas or electricity.
You also have rights.
Your supplier must follow rules covering areas such as billing, customer service, complaints and support for people who may need extra help.
Most of the time, you may never need to think about these rules.
However, they become important when something goes wrong.
Perhaps your bill looks wrong.
Maybe your supplier has taken too much by Direct Debit.
You could be waiting for money to be refunded.
Or you may simply feel that your supplier is not dealing with a problem fairly.
Knowing your rights can make these situations much easier to handle.
Who Protects Energy Customers?
Several organisations have different roles.
Understanding those roles helps you know where to turn.
Ofgem
Ofgem is the energy regulator for Great Britain.
It sets and enforces rules that energy suppliers must follow.
Those rules cover many areas of the relationship between suppliers and customers. Ofgem’s Standards of Conduct include requirements around fair treatment and, for domestic customers, informed choices and customers in vulnerable situations.
However, Ofgem does not normally investigate an individual household complaint for you.
Usually, you start with your supplier.
Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice provides independent help with consumer problems.
This can be particularly useful when you are unsure about your rights or what to do next.
For example, Citizens Advice provides guidance on billing disputes, back-billing and other energy problems.
In Scotland, you can also seek help through your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
Energy Ombudsman
The Energy Ombudsman can investigate certain disputes that have not been resolved by the supplier.
However, you cannot normally go straight to the Ombudsman.
You first need to complain to your energy supplier.
If you receive a deadlock letter, or the complaint remains unresolved after eight weeks, you may then be able to take the dispute to the Energy Ombudsman.
So, the normal journey is:
Problem → Supplier → Formal complaint → Energy Ombudsman
Your Supplier Has Responsibilities
Energy suppliers cannot simply deal with customers however they choose.
They operate within rules designed to protect consumers.
In practice, this means you should expect your supplier to deal properly with matters such as:
- Bills
- Payments
- Switching
- Credit balances
- Complaints
- Customers who need additional support
Ofgem also has Guaranteed Standards of Performance covering certain service failures. Where a relevant standard is breached, automatic compensation can apply.
The exact rules depend on what has happened.
We will explore the important ones throughout this section.
You Have the Right to an Accurate Bill
Your energy bill should reflect the energy you have used as accurately as possible.
However, problems can happen.
For example:
- A bill may use estimated readings
- A meter reading may be recorded incorrectly
- An account may not be updated
- A supplier may make a billing mistake
- A Direct Debit may not match expected use
If something looks wrong, do not assume the supplier must be correct.
Check the bill.
Compare the meter reading shown with the actual meter where possible.
Then contact the supplier if the figures do not make sense.
Billing problems are worth taking seriously: Ofgem’s 2026 consumer research found that billing-related issues were among the most common reasons people reported making complaints.
What If Your Supplier Has Not Billed You Properly?
There are protections known as the back-billing rules.
In many circumstances, a supplier cannot suddenly charge you for energy used more than 12 months ago if you were not accurately billed for it before.
For example, imagine your supplier failed to send accurate bills for two years despite you doing what was reasonably expected of you.
You should not automatically assume you must pay the whole two years.
Ofgem’s rules can prevent suppliers from recovering charges for energy used more than 12 months earlier in qualifying circumstances.
However, there are exceptions.
For example, the protection may not apply if you acted unreasonably and prevented the supplier from billing you accurately.
We will cover this properly on the next page:
Energy Bills, Charges and Back-Billing
What If Your Account Is in Credit?
Sometimes you may pay more than the energy you actually use.
This can leave your account in credit.
That money has not simply become the supplier’s money.
You may be able to ask for your credit balance to be refunded.
There are also specific rules when you leave a supplier.
For example, following a switch, the former supplier generally has six weeks to send the final bill.
Once that final bill is sent, money owed from a credit balance should generally be refunded within 10 working days.
Failure to meet certain standards can result in automatic compensation.
So, if you have switched supplier and are still waiting for a large credit balance, do not simply forget about it.
What If You Cannot Afford Your Energy Bill?
Being unable to afford a bill does not remove your rights.
Contacting your supplier early is important.
Suppliers have responsibilities towards customers who are struggling with energy costs, and additional protections can apply in some circumstances.
Your situation matters.
So does your ability to pay.
This becomes particularly important where debt, prepayment meters or vulnerability are involved.
We will deal with these subjects separately in:
Energy Debt, Prepayment Meters and Vulnerability
What Does Vulnerability Mean?
Vulnerability is much broader than many people realise.
A person may need additional support because of their circumstances.
Some situations are long term.
Others may be temporary.
The important principle is that suppliers need to take account of customers in vulnerable situations. Ofgem’s domestic Standards of Conduct specifically include having special regard for such consumers.
Therefore, if your circumstances affect your ability to manage your energy account, communicate with your supplier or maintain your energy supply, tell the supplier.
Do not assume they already know.
The Priority Services Register
Some customers can receive extra practical support through the Priority Services Register, often shortened to PSR.
This can help people who need additional assistance because of their circumstances.
The support available depends on individual needs.
Therefore, if you think you or someone in your household may need extra help, it is worth checking whether you are eligible.
We will explain this more fully when we look at vulnerability and energy debt.
What If Your Supplier Makes a Mistake?
Suppliers do make mistakes.
The important question is what happens next.
If you believe something is wrong, start by gathering information.
For example, keep:
- Bills
- Meter readings
- Photographs of the meter
- Emails
- Letters
- Screenshots
- Payment records
- Dates of telephone calls
If you speak to the supplier, make a note of what was discussed.
This may feel unnecessary when the problem first appears.
However, it can become extremely useful if the issue continues.
Do Not Be Afraid to Say: “I Want to Make a Complaint”
There is an important difference between reporting a problem and making a formal complaint.
If an issue keeps going around in circles, make it clear that you want the matter treated as a complaint.
Keep the date.
That date can become important later because the Energy Ombudsman normally expects you to have complained to the supplier first.
If the supplier sends you a deadlock letter, or eight weeks pass without resolution, you may then be able to take the dispute further.
You Do Not Have to Understand Every Regulation
Energy regulation can be complicated.
You do not need to memorise licence conditions or become an expert in consumer law.
Instead, remember the practical journey:
Something looks wrong
↓
Check the facts
↓
Contact the supplier
↓
Keep evidence
↓
Make a formal complaint if needed
↓
Escalate if it remains unresolved
That process will deal with a large number of energy problems.
Know the Difference Between a Problem and Your Rights
Suppose you receive a surprisingly high bill.
A high bill does not automatically mean your rights have been breached.
You may simply have used more energy.
However, if the supplier has used an incorrect meter reading, failed to bill you correctly or refuses to investigate a genuine problem, the situation is different.
This is why evidence matters.
Before arguing about the amount, try to establish:
What happened?
What should have happened?
What needs to be corrected?
That makes it much easier to deal with the supplier.
Your Rights Are There to Be Used
Most energy accounts work without serious problems.
However, when something does go wrong, it can involve significant amounts of money.
A billing error can continue for months.
A credit balance can remain unpaid.
A switching problem can create two competing accounts.
An unresolved complaint can become exhausting.
Knowing the basic rules changes your position.
Instead of simply saying:
“This doesn’t seem fair.”
you can begin asking:
“What are my rights, and what should the supplier do about this?”
That is a much stronger starting point.
In Short
As an energy customer, you have rights.
Your supplier has responsibilities.
Ofgem sets and enforces many of the rules governing suppliers, while Citizens Advice can provide independent consumer guidance. If a complaint cannot be resolved with your supplier, the Energy Ombudsman may be able to step in once the required stage has been reached.
The most important thing is to act when something does not look right.
Check the information.
Keep evidence.
Contact the supplier.
And if necessary, make a formal complaint.
You do not need to know every energy regulation.
You simply need to know that you have rights and there is a process for using them.
Next: Energy Bills, Charges and Back-Billing →
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