Help if you can’t pay gas and electric bills

Paying for your energy on a prepayment meter is more expensive than paying by Direct Debit.

Any arrears will be added to the meter and a set amount will be deducted each week. This means you must pay the arrears each week or risk your supply being cut off, although this is rare.

Large energy bills are rarely the result of a faulty meter. If you receive a bill that seems unusually high, you should check a few things first:

• Is the current meter reading correct? If the bill's estimated, make sure you can provide a more accurate up-to-date reading to your supplier. Even if the current reading's higher and the new bill would be more, it’s better to make sure your readings are correct
• Have your previous meter readings been correct? For example if the last bill was based on a low estimate, your current bill may be higher to ‘catch up’
• Are you sure that the bill is for the same meter? There can be confusion about which meter should be read, especially if you live in a flat. You should note down the serial number and current reading on your meter and contact your supplier with these details. The meter’s serial number will be a mix of numbers and letters printed on the meter itself
• Have you had any new appliances fitted? People often underestimate how much electricity some appliances, such as heaters, can use. Older appliances can also use a lot of electricity, especially if they’re faulty. Check the amount of units used in a day whenever a certain appliance is on, then turn it off for a day and compare the amount used

If you've checked all of these and you're still worried your bill is high, speak to your supplier for advice. You could also take a meter reading at the same time each day for a week to check your average daily usage, and have this information to hand when calling your supplier.

In April 2018, Ofgem ruled that energy suppliers couldn’t ‘back-bill’ their customers for energy that was used more than a year ago.

Back-billing is when suppliers estimate bills due to not having regular, accurate meter readings. Once they have the meter readings, the supplier might send a catch-up bill if the estimated amount was too low. The only exception to this ban is if a customer prevents an energy company from taking accurate meter readings, for example by refusing access to the meter to take a reading.

If this happens to you, and you don’t believe you owe this money, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the company. If you don’t receive a satisfactory response, you can escalate your complaint to The Energy Ombudsman.

You must not ignore any letters you receive about your energy bills, whether it’s from your current supplier or a previous one. Even if you disagree with the amount that you’ve been billed, there’s still a possibility that you owe some money.

If the company that sent the letter doesn't hear from you, they may consider pursuing enforcement action through the courts if you live in England and Wales or through the courts if you live in Scotland. This would further complicate the problem.

Smart meters are compact devices that you can display in your home. They have an easy-to-follow screen that accurately tells you how much energy you're using and how much it will cost. They also tell your supplier each month how much energy you used, meaning your bill is more likely to reflect your actual usage.

Many energy companies recommend smart meters as a way to help people save money on energy bills. If you make small changes to your energy consumption – for example by switching off appliances when not in use or keeping the heating low - you should see the benefits very quickly on your smart meter.

Visit the Smart Energy GB website for more information on smart meters and how they could help you reduce your energy bill.