Between January and October 2024, more than 52,000 energy customers called the charity about problems paying their gas or electricity bills.
In 2020, two years before the energy price cap skyrocketed to £3,549, the charity received just 29,000 calls about the issue.
In comparison, when the energy bill crisis hit, the charity had 190,257 people either call, visit for a meeting or use its webchat services to receive help with payment issues.
The cap has since dropped, but in October the energy price cap rose by an average of £12 per month to £1,717 per person.
In a 10-month period, Citizens Advice received a call around once every two minutes, with a quarter (24%) relating to a shock bill or catch-up bill.
Wellness and wellbeing holidays: Travel insurance is essential for your peace of mind
Out of the pandemic lockdowns, there’s a greater emphasis on wellbeing and wellness, with
Sponsored by Post Office
On average, the amount chased from energy companies that prompted the phone call to the charity was over £2,500, which is £800 more than during the energy crisis in 2022.
This follows a wave of problems with smart meters where readings were not automatically being sent as they were not in the required ‘smart’ mode. A third of the installed meters also had problems with the screen that displays the energy usage.
Further, over two-thirds of callers who wanted help with a meter reading were disabled or had a long-term health condition.
Every household needs to have an operational smart meter by 2025 and anyone with a faulty meter, known as a ‘dumb’ device, can ask their supplier to replace it.
Meanwhile, one in five callers said they received poor customer services, with a common complaint being asked to explain complex billing matters multiple times to different representatives of the energy firm.
The charity has urged Ofgem to introduce a back-billing limit of six months, so energy customers with smart meters receive more accurate bills and fewer shocks at their door from hefty bills.
Financial anxiety due to numbers that don’t add up
Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “When you’re faced with numbers that don’t add up, it can at best be confusing and at worst ignite financial anxiety that for some can feel insurmountable.
“Soaring costs and historic[al] levels of energy debt mean an unexpected or incorrect bill could be the tipping point that pushes a household’s budget from tight to completely unmanageable.
“Consumers simply can’t afford to pick up the tab when something goes wrong. Ofgem must act to protect consumers by limiting back-billing and raising service standards, so people struggling with billing issues get the help they need.”
