How to Dispute Your Electric Bill and Fight Utility Company - Overcharged Electricity Bill

How to Dispute Your Electric Bill and Fight the Utility Company. There are few feelings more frustrating than opening your energy bill and seeing a number a lot higher than you were expecting. It’s frustrating because you often feel completely helpless.

To find out if you’ve been overcharged due to estimated bills, submit a minimum of four-meter readings per year. This gives an average electric bill accounting for seasonal changes in temperature and corresponding energy use. If you have a standard meter, jot down all the numbers except those after the decimal point or any highlighted in red. Most of the big six suppliers let you submit these online, or even via a smartphone app with a quick snapshot of your meter.

If you have a smart meter, it’s even easier – your energy supplier can track your usage over time. This should eliminate all guesswork, keeping your bills accurate. The government is currently in the process of rolling out smart meters to all homes in the UK by 2024.

You don’t know anything about utilities. You can’t explain how it works. You don’t know what a “kilowatt-hour” is. So you see an abnormally-high energy bill and get mad… and then you just pay it.

The question, however, hangs in your mind: “Can I dispute my energy bill?”

The answer is - maybe.

The truth is, no company is perfect. Every utility company is run by human beings. So if you want to contest your electric bill, it might be possible that someone made a mistake somewhere in the process.

If you’re convinced that you want to, then let’s move onto the meat-and-potatoes of the issue: how do you dispute your electric bill, exactly?

Reach out to the company directly.
If you’re in the heat of the moment, you don’t want to pick up the phone and call the utility company right away. For one thing, you might make some crucial mistakes while talking to the utility company that could limit your ability to get any kind of resolution.

The other problem is, you’re going to want to do your homework first. A little bit of preparation goes a long way, and doing this due diligence is necessary.

Get your records together. Have your current bill in front of you, as well as several past bill from recent months. You want to make sure that you are working off the same numbers that your utility company is working off of. Don’t worry about “estimates” or how your bill “usually” is. Have the exact numbers handy?

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Also, have something to take notes with. You’ll probably exchange some information with the customer service representative on the other end of the phone, and you’ll need to document who you talked to and when, along with exactly what information you received. This is important in case the dispute is escalated.

Next, set some goals for yourself. How much do you want the bill reduced? Often in these situations, a settlement is offered. What does that number look like for you? Resist the urge to go with an “all or nothing” approach. Be reasonable and understand that the person you’re dealing with probably can’t just wipe away your entire bill unless there was a serious mistake.

Then, call the company during a time of day when the representative isn’t so busy. Friday mornings are great. Avoid Mondays or days after holidays.

[SectionConsulting]

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[ineedavaykation]

This video was in my YouTube suggestions. I'm in Oklahoma where the Public Utility Commission and the monopoly energy provider works in concert and collude with one another! Absolutely timeless information and so very necessary with the current state of consumer's being strong armed by soaring energy costs. Thank you sincerely for your wisdom !!🙌🙌🙌

[hottroddshineridebrown]

I am very surprised that this haven't be taken down wow. this guy is on point! I've used this and I had people calling me and taken notes. the power company will then hear your concerns and work with u and probably make that 700 dollar bill go away, I'm just saying. those smart meaters are not that intelligent after all. they upload information to them thats what they interpret. thanks so much for the free feedback hats off to u man.

[karriepage]

I could blow your mind....in the 11 years I've lived in my home I've paid over $60000 in electric bills. I hope I can utilize your tips. It has financially ruined us time and time again. Our disputes have gone nowhere. These really are predatory practices but I've been unable to get anyone to help.

[aceoffice]

I am blown north of Asheville NC. Company went out of business in November. I had savings but almost gone. My electric bill just went up.... $500 for Dec and $700 for Jan. Feb will be $700. What has can I do this? How can they do this?

[mindyfriedman]

Thank you. Your information is extremely helpful. A few years ago, I filed a complaint with the California Public Utilities Commission because of being overcharged by Southern California Gas Co after the Aliso Canyon gas leak. My winter bill was three times higher than it had ever been in a well-insulated townhome with dual pane windows. I also had a Nest thermometer which I programmed to suit my needs and manually turned the temperature to 58 degrees when I wasn't home. After auditing my bill and usage, they wrote me a letter to inform me that everything was correct; however, I still believe that they were trying to recover money from the Aliso Canyon fiasco.

[Bill-jzw]

Thank you for this information. What about gas utility complaint’s?

[billyray]

Thank you sir! I like your style. I had a water heater guy screw me because he didn't want to change the anode rod. Told me to turn the temp up to 150 to get rid of this egg smell I was having. It stopped smelling but my electric bill doubled like for 6 months. I just found your videos today. Just paid a 670.00 electricity bill. Thank you sir. Maybe I can get some money back.

[Life-A-Bowl-of-Cherries]

Going to contact them all tomorrow. For years now theyve refused to replace a non working meter despite having an electrician tell them the reason it stopped functioning is because of a frayed wire feeding our house. $800 bills every month sent & were at 10k now because without a meter they were free to charge whatever they liked.. Finally after 4years we did just finally get them to replace the wire and meter but not after causing 3k in repairs to our house wiring that was damaged from only a single phase of the two wire feed provinding power to the home. Honestly the criminal monoply energy companies are a primary reason for the decay of a working capitalist society. How can we prosper as a country when were bled dry just trying to survive

[OzieNC]

My power bill is $4700. I have a smart meter. My power got turned off on 3/25/24, and it's still off. I can't afford to pay it. It kept going up during covid. I paid a minimum on it but couldn't keep it up.

[davidbrown]

Georgia power tried to charge me 7x more than what was indicated on my usage. The data on the own website says I only used 343 kwh having a daily average of $4.20, but they're attempting to charge me for 2592 kwh which is about $28 per day with no justification. Even their customer service rep said the bill was inaccurate, but the billing department refused to do anything about it. Could their meter reading be incorrect, or could they possibly be charging me for other unit's power?

- Thanks

[saabsk]

We have an old gas meter. The utility company wants us to change it to a ''smart gas'' meter. What do you think I should do? If there is a power outage will the gas still work with a smart gas meter?

[Tiffanyserrano-pbud]

Does this work for 2013 bill I did not know about is a very huge Amnt. I have been on the phone with them for weeks. They also told me they took legal action. I was speechless. Any advice will appreciate Thank you

[Tiffanyserrano-pbud]

I called public utility council they stated that can’t help me because it was taken to court 2013 outrages amount. They told me to call the lawyer from the electric company. Is there anything else I can do. Thank you

[davidbrucemusicvideo]

Great video, and thanks for the list of agencies to contact. I’m wondering if you have heard from people telling you their electric bill has gone up ever since a “smart meter” was installed. Looks like that’s what happened to us, about $100 more each month since the smart meter was installed, something I didn’t even want installed on the house in the first place because of certain reasons I won’t get into here.

[CarlJones-km]

They are not sending out shutoff bill until two are three bill later

[CherylWay-iglr]

My landlord switched bill into my name half way through my lease. I must pay full year

[Johnny_Benson]

We got APS on AZ and my bill is 500-550 a month for 150.00 in power. The rest of the bill is fees.

[monroegibson]

Hi again. You really do a great job on here. Thank you very much. My meter is saying I'm using more kwh in Jan than in Aug. A big wow. There's more to it than that. I can explain. Please help

[jackieloftis]

I have had 800$ electric bills. The last 2 months they have been over 500$. All they have to say is..I don't know what to tell you. There needs to be more transparency with the light companies. It's an it just is what it is kind of billing and I'm fed up with it.