Moved house? You may have unclaimed energy credit

If you moved house in the last five years, you could have unclaimed credit sitting in your old gas and electricity accounts.

Around £240m is sitting in closed energy accounts which can be returned to customers, according to the regulator Ofgem and suppliers.

Ofgem said there were 1.9 million closed accounts with credit in them. Most people may only be owed a few pounds, but some could claim back more than £100.

Energy UK, which represents suppliers, said people should check letters and emails and contact their old suppliers if they think they have outstanding credit.

More than 90% of closed account balances are returned automatically, Energy UK said. But contacting a person after they move house and close their account can be difficult, so customers are being encouraged to check for themselves.

Tim Jarvis, Director General for Retail at Ofgem, said: "Moving house requires a lot of life admin – and it's understandable that some things will be missed.

"But with almost two million closed accounts currently in credit, the message is clear – if you've moved in the last five years, reach out to your old supplier, provide them with the correct information, and you could be due a refund."

The advice from Energy UK is to keep your direct debit active until the final bill has been settled. Leftover credit should automatically be paid to customers.

Under Ofgem rules, suppliers must issue a final bill within six weeks and issue a refund within 10 working days after that, but Ofgem said missing customer details were causing delays.

Earlier this week Ofgem announced plans to clear some of the record levels of debt that customers owe to suppliers.

Energy debt and arrears in England, Wales and Scotland rose by £750m in a year to £4.4bn.

But the proposed plan to clear this debt would involve higher bills for everyone else, a solution that has been criticised.

The chair of the Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee said "parts of the sector that are making healthy profits" should contribute towards the debt.

Households on a price cap tariff already typically pay £52 a year to deal with historic debt as part of the £1,755 annual bill.