Martin Lewis has issued a key warning for anyone who pays their energy bills by Direct Debit.
In a tweet, the Money Saving Expert founder said: "Energy firms are said to be sitting on £3bn of our cash in Direct Debit 'credit'. CHECK YOUR ENERGY CREDIT TODAY!
"It's the perfect time as you should have min credit at this point in the cycle. Some'll be due £100s back."
He added in a follow up post on his website: "I often say get off the Price Pants Cap to stop overpaying (compare & cut bills by 10%+), yet energy firms are also said to be sitting on over £3 BILLION of our credit, having built up this huge reservoir from homes that pay by monthly Direct Debit (DD).
"Well, we're about to enter the PERFECT time to check if they've too much of your cash. My can you get £100s of energy credit back? blog has full info, but let's run through the basics... This matters."
— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) April 16, 2025
Energy firms are said to be sitting on £3bn of our cash in Direct Debit 'credit'. CHECK YOUR ENERGY CREDIT TODAY! It's the perfect time as you should have min credit at this point in the cycle. Some'll be due £100s back. Full explanation & help...…
Monthly Direct Debits estimate your energy usage through the year and divide that by 12 so you pay the same each month.
That means you build up credit in the lower-use summer, and use up that credit (or go into debt) in the colder winter months.
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"And we're heading towards the bottom of the cycle, as late April and early May is usually when you've minimal credit/maximum debt before you start to rebuild it," he explains.
Under condition 27 of both the gas & the electricity supply licence rules for Eng, Scot & Wales, suppliers must: 1) Set fair Direct Debits. 2) Give clear explanations. 3) Refund credits where appropriate.
So, now is the time to check your account, and ask for any surplus back, pop it into a high interest account, then be ready to pay it when you use more energy. Then the interest is yours, not the energy giants'.
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