:00:10. > :00:15.We asked you to tell us who has left you feeling ripped off.
:00:15. > :00:20.think this is very, very wrong for what they have done. The bank piles
:00:20. > :00:24.charges upon charges. The legally it was right. Morally? That is
:00:24. > :00:29.where the question and doubt comes in. And you contacted us in your
:00:29. > :00:34.thousands, by post, email and even stopping us in the streets. The
:00:34. > :00:38.message could not be clearer. don't always get a straight answer.
:00:38. > :00:42.They try and fob you off. I am not happy with them. There is always
:00:42. > :00:46.the small print with the clause that you did not realise. We are
:00:47. > :00:50.being ripped off big time. If it is a deliberate rip-off, a mistake, a
:00:50. > :00:55.capped in the small print, we will find out why you are out of pocket
:00:55. > :01:01.and what you can do about it. Keep asking the questions. Go to the top
:01:01. > :01:04.if you have to. We do get results, that is the interesting thing.
:01:04. > :01:07.stories and your money. This is Rip Off Britain.
:01:07. > :01:10.Hello and welcome to Rip Off Britain, the series that battles on
:01:10. > :01:16.your behalf to sort out your complaint and try to make sure that
:01:16. > :01:19.nobody is taking advantage of you and your money. Today we have the
:01:19. > :01:24.big six very firmly in our sides. That is right. I am talking about
:01:24. > :01:28.the main UK gas and electricity providers. If there is one cost on
:01:28. > :01:33.all our minds this winter, it is the ever soaring energy bills.
:01:33. > :01:36.Never have they been higher or more confusing. The energy companies are
:01:36. > :01:42.saying that they had no choice but to put their prices up. Is that
:01:42. > :01:46.true? Are they just ripping us off? With so many of you feeling at the
:01:46. > :01:51.mercy of these companies, the programme today is getting answers
:01:51. > :01:55.on a topic that affects everybody. We will make sure you don't become
:01:55. > :01:59.a casualty of the energy price wall. Coming up, we will see if the
:01:59. > :02:02.current Mastermind champion can make sense of an energy bill. And
:02:03. > :02:09.we will ask the Government's Energy Minister if he can make them
:02:09. > :02:14.simpler and cheaper. The woman whose house ended up like this. All
:02:14. > :02:17.because she tried to make it energy efficient. It was supposed to make
:02:17. > :02:23.my house warmer, healthier, more efficient and it has done exactly
:02:23. > :02:28.the opposite. We have enlisted a team of experts to solve your
:02:28. > :02:31.problems face to face. This is our one-stop, pop-up shop.
:02:31. > :02:38.Over the last year, all the big six energy companies have announced
:02:38. > :02:41.price rises of an average of 16% for electricity and 19% for gas.
:02:41. > :02:45.Although the big six energy companies have now started to drop
:02:45. > :02:50.prices, we are all still feeling a major squeeze on our wallets,
:02:50. > :02:54.because they are not putting them down by as much as they went up.
:02:54. > :02:58.Even now, you can still save money by switching supplier. In fact,
:02:58. > :03:02.according to figures from the comparison site uSwitch, if all UK
:03:02. > :03:10.households moved on to the best possible deal, the country could
:03:10. > :03:14.collectively save a staggering 3.2 billion on its energy bills. Where
:03:15. > :03:19.to start? With 300 different tariffs available, it is not easy
:03:19. > :03:25.to work out how much you are playing. The higher cost of our
:03:25. > :03:29.energy bills this winter is there something that -- is something that
:03:29. > :03:36.affects all of us. We asked if you had an opinion and you did not hold
:03:36. > :03:40.back. The recent rises are atrocious. They are ripping off
:03:40. > :03:45.consumers all over Britain. The put it up in the summer because you do
:03:46. > :03:50.not notice. In the winter you think twice before you leave it on all
:03:50. > :03:54.day. One company increases the prices and then a couple of weeks
:03:54. > :03:58.later the other one follows, regardless of whether they need to
:03:58. > :04:01.one not. The energy companies say the price rises are unavoidable
:04:01. > :04:05.because of rising costs and they insist our prices are the most
:04:05. > :04:09.competitive in Europe. It is not just the cost of your bills that
:04:09. > :04:15.you have been contacting us about. Patricia is one of many people to
:04:15. > :04:24.tell us that bills can be hard to make sense of. I contacted Rip Off
:04:24. > :04:30.Britain because I was contact bio cold called salesperson. The talk
:04:30. > :04:33.that he gave me was in units and megahertz and things. I looked at
:04:33. > :04:38.one of my bills and I thought that they did not understand what he had
:04:38. > :04:47.been going on about. Patricia had no idea if she had been offered a
:04:47. > :04:51.good deal. I would have changed tariffs if I had understood the
:04:51. > :04:56.tables within my bills. He tried to say which was the cheapest but I
:04:56. > :05:00.had no way of knowing. experience is typical of what both
:05:00. > :05:05.consumers and the regulator Ofgem believe, that tariffs are simply
:05:05. > :05:08.too complicated. Of course the energy companies do not agree.
:05:08. > :05:12.Energy UK, who represents them, accepts that there is a lot of
:05:12. > :05:15.information that they are required to include on bills. They insist
:05:15. > :05:20.that the industry is working hard to make them play and that
:05:20. > :05:23.customers get an annual statement with all of the key details. -- to
:05:23. > :05:27.make them clear. They say there is choice and the energy market and
:05:27. > :05:30.they listen hard to what consumers are saying. Let's see if they will
:05:30. > :05:37.listen to Patricia and everyone else who has told us the same thing.
:05:37. > :05:41.I believe that every energy company should make it simple for every
:05:41. > :05:45.consumer to be able to read an electric or gas bill. Just how hard
:05:45. > :05:48.is it to understand your energy bills? Stay tuned, because later in
:05:49. > :05:55.the programme we will be putting it to the test with the current
:05:55. > :05:58.Mastermind champion. One way many of you have been able
:05:58. > :06:04.to lower your fuel bills is by having cavity wall insulation to
:06:04. > :06:08.make it more energy efficient. It keeps the heat in, but it can save
:06:08. > :06:12.�100 per year. Under the Warm Front scheme, almost 2 million people
:06:12. > :06:17.have qualified for a Government grant to help them get better
:06:17. > :06:21.efficiency. But before you go ahead, be sure that your house is suitable.
:06:21. > :06:27.Not all of them are. One of our viewers was horrified to find that
:06:27. > :06:31.out. For most homes, cavity wall
:06:31. > :06:35.insulation is a great idea. It adds an extra insulating layer between
:06:35. > :06:41.the bricks and it can really help cut heating bills and keep the
:06:41. > :06:47.tills at bay. That is certainly why Jane had it done. -- keep the chill
:06:47. > :06:51.as at bay. Why on earth is she opening her windows on this cold
:06:51. > :06:57.day in Cramlington? I have to open as many doors and windows as
:06:57. > :07:02.possible to get some air into the house. Jane has lived in her modern
:07:02. > :07:11.home in the village since 1997. It was an absolute pride and joy and
:07:11. > :07:16.told has happened. -- until this happened. This is actually mould
:07:16. > :07:24.and mildew growing on the top of the cupboard. It is into the
:07:24. > :07:30.skirting boards. The cupboards are ruined. These are my handbags. You
:07:30. > :07:35.can see the mould all over the back of it. Warm Front approached me and
:07:35. > :07:38.offered me a grant to get cavity wall insulation put in.
:07:38. > :07:45.Unfortunately it was supposed to make my house warmer, healthier,
:07:46. > :07:49.more efficient. It has done exactly the opposite. The walls were filled
:07:50. > :07:55.back in 2006, after a surveyor, the Warm Front scheme inspected the
:07:55. > :08:00.house. He said it was suitable for cavity wall insulation. The loft
:08:00. > :08:06.was intimated in 2007, again through Warm Front. They appointed
:08:06. > :08:10.installers to do the job. After the work was done, Jane started
:08:10. > :08:15.noticing mould and mildew on her clothes. At that time I thought it
:08:15. > :08:19.must be structural, that the mould had to be coming from damp.
:08:19. > :08:25.Therefore I got the drains check, the guttering, the roof, in case
:08:25. > :08:29.there was any water coming in through that. But it was none of
:08:29. > :08:34.those things. We asked Steve Hodgson from a trade body which
:08:34. > :08:38.represents specialists in insulation to take a look. Good
:08:38. > :08:42.morning. He says the trouble has been caused by the fact that
:08:42. > :08:46.without extra work, Jane's house was simply not right for this type
:08:46. > :08:50.of insulation in the first place. When the initial survey was done,
:08:50. > :08:55.it should have been picked up that the building's design meant that
:08:55. > :09:00.problems could occur. The property has almost no natural ventilation.
:09:00. > :09:05.There are no fans, no extractors. There is very little opportunity
:09:05. > :09:08.for the moisture in the air to escape. What has happened, where
:09:08. > :09:13.the insulation has got into the walls, it has warmed up the
:09:13. > :09:18.external walls and it has made the uninsulatable walls much colder,
:09:19. > :09:22.which has attracted the moisture and now you have got the mould and
:09:23. > :09:28.mildew growing, which you can see affecting a number of rooms. Worry
:09:28. > :09:34.only, Jane was told by an environmental health officer at
:09:34. > :09:38.that the mould could be damaging the family's health. -- worry only.
:09:38. > :09:44.He said basically my home had been bubble-wrapped and so it cannot
:09:44. > :09:48.breed. There is nowhere for the heir to go and we are going to be
:09:48. > :09:52.breeding in all of those mould spores. This bubble-wrapped house
:09:52. > :09:56.is not a one-off. Steve Hodgson has seen other people that have gone
:09:56. > :10:02.down the insulation group only to find it was not necessarily
:10:02. > :10:05.suitable for their home. Unfortunately surveyors and
:10:05. > :10:12.specifiers are coming out and grabbing, if you like, the easy
:10:12. > :10:15.work, and not really thinking about the building as an individual unit,
:10:15. > :10:21.not thinking about where they should apply the insulation other
:10:21. > :10:27.than just the easy bits. Quick, simple, but not always right for a
:10:28. > :10:32.house. As you can see, it is wet and soggy. In May, 2011, when she
:10:32. > :10:36.finally made the connection between the mould and the insulation, Jane
:10:36. > :10:39.complained to Warm Front. Eight months later she is still stuck.
:10:39. > :10:43.Two inspectors have visited and concluded that issue to do with the
:10:43. > :10:46.design of the building our material to the problems that she suffered,
:10:46. > :10:50.they did not acknowledge that was something the original inspection
:10:50. > :10:54.should have spotted. When we got in touch with Warm Front, they pointed
:10:54. > :10:57.out that since 2000 they have helped to million households make
:10:57. > :11:02.their homes warmer and more affordable to heat. They agree that
:11:02. > :11:06.they should have helped Jane more quickly and they apologise for the
:11:06. > :11:09.inconvenience caused. They say that rather than cause the problem, the
:11:09. > :11:12.insulation highlighted a pre- existing condition of humidity.
:11:12. > :11:14.They have identified what action needs to be taken to better
:11:15. > :11:21.ventilate the house and they will arrange for the work to be
:11:21. > :11:26.completed as quickly as possible. For Jane that cannot come soon
:11:26. > :11:33.enough. I actually feel very angry that my things, that I have worked
:11:33. > :11:39.really hard for, have been destroyed. You can't replace
:11:39. > :11:47.everything. It is in pictures, in clothes, in handbags. It is even in
:11:47. > :11:50.my bedding. All of these things I can't afford to replace. It seems
:11:50. > :11:55.that Jane is still in limbo, which as you might imagine is extremely
:11:55. > :11:59.frustrating, especially at this time of year. We hope she gets some
:11:59. > :12:03.kind of answer very soon. If your house is suitable, cavity wall
:12:03. > :12:07.insulation is one of the best way to make it more energy efficient.
:12:07. > :12:17.You can find out more about how to go about it by contacting the
:12:17. > :12:20.
:12:20. > :12:24.Energy Saving Trust. The details Last September, we went to the
:12:24. > :12:28.Trafford Centre in Manchester. For one weekend only, we opened up a
:12:28. > :12:34.pop-up shop, with the team of experts on hand to offer consumer
:12:34. > :12:37.advice. We tried to solve your problems in person, right away.
:12:37. > :12:43.Good morning, everybody. I am impressed that you turned up early
:12:44. > :12:49.to be first in line. I hope somebody can help me and point me
:12:49. > :12:53.in the right direction. We have a couple of people from Trading
:12:53. > :12:59.Standards and some other people as well so hopefully we can find you
:12:59. > :13:03.the solution today. Thank you for coming. Unsurprisingly concern over
:13:03. > :13:10.energy prices was a recurring theme. Do you think you are being ripped
:13:10. > :13:18.off? With energy bills. And energy bills, yes. They keep ongoing up.
:13:18. > :13:25.What is bothering you? They talk about things going up and it is all
:13:25. > :13:29.based on fuel. Phil came to see our energy expert just before his
:13:29. > :13:35.tariff was going to and. I want to know if I should go on a capped
:13:35. > :13:38.tariff, standard tariff, or any online tariff. You need to be aware
:13:38. > :13:44.of what your current energy supplier will offer you. I think it
:13:45. > :13:48.is the standard rate plus 5%. standard rate, that is the most
:13:48. > :13:53.expensive product for an eight energy supply it so do not accept
:13:53. > :13:59.that. We can get you on line and find the best product for you.
:13:59. > :14:04.Shall we jump in? Yes, please. Straightaway we can see here that
:14:04. > :14:10.the cheapest tariff for you on the market at the moment would save you
:14:10. > :14:13.�271 per year. That is pretty good. Quite a healthy saving. Christopher
:14:13. > :14:18.was among the people that told us that he has difficulty working out
:14:18. > :14:23.the details of his energy tariff. Bills, you need a degree in maths
:14:23. > :14:27.to understand it. For a start, the meter shows metric units, but they
:14:27. > :14:34.do not charge metric units. They charge kilowatt hours. What can you
:14:34. > :14:37.do? They take the metric units, multiply it by 39.2225. I don't
:14:37. > :14:43.know where they get that figure from. That gives them the calorific
:14:43. > :14:50.value. It is easy to hide being ripped off here because people do
:14:50. > :14:53.not understand it and do not We'll be putting some of these
:14:53. > :14:57.points to the Energy Secretary Chris Huhne later in the programme,
:14:57. > :15:00.and asking him what he's going to do about it. But we've a lot more
:15:00. > :15:05.of your energy horror stories to hear about first, and here's one
:15:05. > :15:08.Rip-Off viewer furious about what happened to them. In 2006,
:15:08. > :15:14.Scarborough musician Donald Grayson had a new electricity meter fitted
:15:14. > :15:19.after joining E.ON's StayWarm tariff. He paid �70 a month, which
:15:19. > :15:22.was open to review at the end of each year. As the end of his first
:15:22. > :15:29.year approached, E.ON told Donald something he didn't like the sound
:15:29. > :15:32.of. When my contract was up for renewal, they sent me a letter,
:15:32. > :15:36.which said, "You've been identified as a very heavy user of
:15:37. > :15:40.electricity." Well, that's bunkum, because everything was the same, I
:15:40. > :15:46.hadn't changed anything - not even a new kettle in that time - so
:15:46. > :15:49.there was no way I could possibly be using any more electricity. He
:15:49. > :15:52.managed to negotiate a more reasonable price rise than the one
:15:52. > :15:56.they had suggested, but a year later, E.ON once again told him he
:15:56. > :16:01.was using very high levels of energy. They refused to renew his
:16:01. > :16:04.current deal, and he was taken off the StayWarm fixed tariff. But as
:16:04. > :16:14.soon as he got the first bills on the new tariff, Donald knew
:16:14. > :16:22.something wasn't right. The first bills were all big bills from
:16:22. > :16:25.December �400, �300 January. 360 odd the next month, something like
:16:25. > :16:28.that, and I'm thinking, "These are all big bills," and I'm ringing
:16:28. > :16:31.them up and saying, "These are big bills," sort of thing, and then
:16:31. > :16:34.they've come up with an excuse saying, "Your meters have not been
:16:34. > :16:37.read, we're just estimating them." Well, that's bunkum because I've
:16:37. > :16:46.got bills which say on them, actually, "Read by us". The others
:16:47. > :16:53.that weren't "read by us" were read by me. Hendon ald kept getting
:16:53. > :16:58.bills he was sure were too high. E.ON insisted they were right, but
:16:58. > :17:01.by the summer of 2010, enough was enough. June was 700 and something,
:17:01. > :17:04.which was diabolical, but it wasn't as bad as July, and I finished up
:17:04. > :17:07.with �1,300 for a month's electricity. Are they pulling my
:17:07. > :17:10.wire? Donald suggested there could be a problem with the meter, but
:17:10. > :17:13.E.ON wouldn't accept it, so he decided to change energy companies.
:17:13. > :17:16.And when his new supplier npower checked the meter, they found it
:17:16. > :17:19.was running almost 70% faster than it should have been. E.ON had been
:17:19. > :17:29.massively overcharging Donald for months, so he went back to them to
:17:29. > :17:32.
:17:32. > :17:35.point that out. They've made an offer, but from my calculations and
:17:35. > :17:40.my working out of the arithmetic, they obviously went to a different
:17:40. > :17:43.school - it doesn't add up. It just does not add up. Donald's
:17:43. > :17:46.disappointed with what the company has done to put things right, and
:17:46. > :17:49.doesn't think it fully covers what he was over-billed. E.ON disagree.
:17:49. > :17:51.They told Rip-Off Britain that as well as reimbursing what he was
:17:52. > :18:01.overpaid, they've also added a... ..and point out that the Energy
:18:02. > :18:07.
:18:07. > :18:11.Ombudsman has ruled that to be fair. Donald is frustrated at how long
:18:11. > :18:15.this took to put right, but he's now got a new meter, and is much
:18:15. > :18:23.happier with his current bills. My electricity bill now is, just with
:18:23. > :18:28.npower, �137. So, why couldn't E.ON do it? Why? They just fobbed me off
:18:28. > :18:38.all the time. And if they fob me off, there's a lot of old people
:18:38. > :18:47.getting fobbed off. Big companies don't always make things easy to
:18:47. > :18:50.understand. And it can be confusing trying to work out just why you
:18:50. > :18:53.haven't ended up with what you expected. So, if you feel bogged
:18:53. > :18:57.down, we've put together a booklet of tips and advice. You can find a
:18:57. > :19:00.link to the free guide on our website. Or, to receive a copy in
:19:00. > :19:07.the post, send an A5 self-addressed envelope to the address we'll give
:19:07. > :19:10.you at the end of the programme. Earlier on in the programme we
:19:10. > :19:13.heard how confusing many of you find your energy bills, working out
:19:13. > :19:17.what you're paying per unit or indeed what tariff you're on, I'm
:19:17. > :19:20.afraid, is still a mystery for a lot of people. So, if you've ever
:19:20. > :19:24.wondered if you need the brain of Britain to understand what you're
:19:24. > :19:28.paying, we thought we'd put that to the test by asking someone who was
:19:28. > :19:31.once the brain of Britain to take a look. Dr Ian Bayley has another
:19:31. > :19:36.impressive title, he's the current Mastermind champion so all round a
:19:36. > :19:41.very clever chap. The question is, is he clever enough to get to the
:19:41. > :19:47.bottom of our baffling bills? That's the challenge we've set to
:19:47. > :19:54.the 2011 Mastermind champion, Ian Bayley. He's got a PhD in computer
:19:54. > :19:56.science and a very astute eye for detail. But will he be able to
:19:56. > :20:01.answer questions about an energy bill, even with the paperwork in
:20:01. > :20:11.front of him? Ian Bayley, university senior lecturer, energy
:20:11. > :20:15.
:20:15. > :20:21.bills. Can you identify what type of tariff is on that bill? I can't
:20:21. > :20:24.see advanced tariff here. I can't see beginner's tariff. There is a
:20:24. > :20:32.tariff for the first seven kilowatts, except, later on it
:20:32. > :20:37.seems to be for the first 749 kilowatts. Is there a standing
:20:37. > :20:40.charge? Right, well I'd expect to see it in the summary. For the gas,
:20:40. > :20:47.it seems to be a certain number of kilowatt hours times a certain
:20:47. > :20:56.amount. If I had to guess, yes, I do have to guess, don't I? If I had
:20:56. > :21:02.to guess, I'd say no. How much energy has been used in this
:21:02. > :21:05.billing period? Trn I've got one plus 11 plus 142, so that's about
:21:05. > :21:15.155, 160. There's this formula, metric units used, calorific value,
:21:15. > :21:16.
:21:16. > :21:19.volume correction to convert to kilowatt hours and divide by 3.6.
:21:19. > :21:28.No, I don't know. BUZZER Can you find any information on whether
:21:28. > :21:33.that bill is estimated or not? can see some information about
:21:33. > :21:38.whether it is actual or estimated. You see, there are three periods
:21:38. > :21:41.here. I'm thinking that, if it was actual for the start of this block
:21:41. > :21:51.of three periods, and actual for the end of this block of three
:21:51. > :21:55.
:21:55. > :21:59.periods, then it has not been estimated. BEEP. That's correct.
:21:59. > :22:02.There you have it. That's three wrong and just one right answer, so
:22:02. > :22:05.with the tough questions over, it's clear that Ian is as confused as
:22:05. > :22:13.the rest of us. Even looking at those bills, he can't figure them
:22:13. > :22:18.out. What's particularly confusing, is there are always two tariffs.
:22:18. > :22:28.One when you have used a certain number of units and before you have
:22:28. > :22:28.
:22:28. > :22:31.used that certain number of units. The changeover point is bound to be
:22:31. > :22:35.different for each of these utility companies. So you can't possibly do
:22:35. > :22:39.any sort of like-for-like comparison. He thinks there should
:22:39. > :22:43.be a set pricing structure, which all the energy companies should
:22:43. > :22:47.stick to. I think all of the energy companies should just simplify
:22:47. > :22:52.their pricing structure. I am the current champion and former brain
:22:52. > :23:01.of Britain and I have a PHD in computer science. If I can't work
:23:02. > :23:04.out an energy bill, then what hope does anyone else have? Well, it's
:23:04. > :23:07.clear that the huge hike in energy prices is providing the biggest
:23:07. > :23:11.financial headache for most consumers this year. Do you think
:23:11. > :23:19.enough is being done to bring down the cost of gas and electricity?
:23:19. > :23:22.Well let's go and ask the Energy Minister, Chris Huhne. Minister,
:23:22. > :23:27.I'm not going to beat about the bush. There is a big sign to the
:23:27. > :23:29.entrance here which says, "Check, switch insulate." That is a bit of
:23:29. > :23:36.a joke in view of some of the things that people have been
:23:36. > :23:41.writing to us about. First, check. When did you last check your bills?
:23:41. > :23:45.When you did - About a month ago. Did you understand it? I did, but I
:23:45. > :23:50.have to say it's not easy to understand and that's why one of
:23:50. > :23:54.the things we are doing is to try to simplify tariffs with Ofgem and
:23:54. > :23:57.make sure there are far fewer. going to stop you there, because
:23:57. > :24:02.I've seen information which says that between the six, there are
:24:02. > :24:05.three -- there are 300 separate tariffs. When you are checking, if
:24:05. > :24:09.you want to see whether or not you can have a better price with
:24:09. > :24:15.another company, it's impossible to check like with like? How will you
:24:15. > :24:19.get them down? We have to simplify and Ofgem have that under way.
:24:19. > :24:22.We'll insist that they have far fewer tariffs, so it's much simpler
:24:22. > :24:27.for the consumer to understand what is going on to see which is the
:24:27. > :24:33.better deal and to switch. You are absolutely right. We have to make
:24:33. > :24:38.it much simpler. At the Liberal Democrats party conference, you
:24:38. > :24:42.said you will get tough with the big six and you referred to
:24:42. > :24:46.predatory pricing. That is the kind of thing that got you lots of
:24:46. > :24:52.applause. What the public want to know is when will we see the
:24:52. > :24:55.results or will it remain political rhetoric? We are doing that now.
:24:55. > :25:01.I've been in conversation then and a long time before in order to make
:25:01. > :25:05.sure we are dealing with any abuses in the sector. Clamping down on
:25:05. > :25:09.mis-selling and introducing new powers to allow redress to consumer,
:25:09. > :25:13.which we will legislate for in the Energy Bill and making sure that
:25:13. > :25:16.it's easier for consumers to compare prices, by shrinking the
:25:16. > :25:20.number of tariffs and making sure through the market reform we get
:25:20. > :25:24.more people into the markets, so it's going to be more competitive.
:25:24. > :25:29.Good news for consumers. All of those things don't happen overnight,
:25:29. > :25:33.but all of those things are things we are working on with as much
:25:33. > :25:38.urgency that we can muster and I know Ofgem are doing that now.
:25:38. > :25:44.Finally, put yourself in the place of a pensioner, of a single mother,
:25:44. > :25:48.a family on a fixed income, facing this cold winter. A huge bill for
:25:48. > :25:52.electricity and gas. They know they can't meet, because although the
:25:52. > :25:57.prices have gone up, their incomes have either stayed level or dropped
:25:57. > :26:01.completely. My reaction would be horror. There is no doubt about it,
:26:01. > :26:05.if you are in a situation where suddenly you get a large bill which
:26:05. > :26:10.is outside what you can afford, it's extremely distressing and
:26:10. > :26:13.obviously like many MPs, I have people who come to me in my surgery
:26:13. > :26:16.every week, in my constituency, and I see them and they are often in
:26:16. > :26:19.that sort of position, not just with energy bills, but with other
:26:19. > :26:24.things as well. It is extremely difficult and that's one of the
:26:24. > :26:27.reasons why, as a Government, we have increased by two thirds the
:26:27. > :26:33.amount of discount which is going to be available, particularly to
:26:33. > :26:37.elderly pensioners, in this sort of situation. We are helping to tackle
:26:37. > :26:40.poverty, but I don't want in anyway to underestimate the gravity of the
:26:40. > :26:44.problem that we have, as a country, still compared with other European
:26:44. > :26:48.countries. There are a number of people who are in real danger for
:26:48. > :26:54.their health as a result of this sort of situation. We must tackle
:26:54. > :26:57.that. It's an urgent national priority. Thank you. All the energy
:26:57. > :27:02.companies have said they are committed to simplifying bills.
:27:02. > :27:05.British Gas was the first. Since last November they now have just
:27:05. > :27:10.two tariffs and bills have a full breakdown of costs, including
:27:10. > :27:13.profits. A number of other providers have since announced
:27:13. > :27:20.changes to theirs, which it is hoped will make reading your bill
:27:20. > :27:26.much more straightforward. Are you baffled by your bills? I think this
:27:26. > :27:30.cannot be true. It's totally unacceptable. I was so angry.
:27:30. > :27:34.Trying to go through never-ending small print that leaves you totally
:27:34. > :27:44.confused. I might have been stupid for not reading it, or read it and
:27:44. > :27:55.
:27:56. > :27:59.not took it in. I could kick myself. You can always write to us. The
:27:59. > :28:02.Rip-Off team is always looking for the stories that matter to you.
:28:02. > :28:05.Well, even though our gas and electricity bills are so much
:28:05. > :28:08.higher this winter than last, do remember, there really is still
:28:08. > :28:11.money to be saved by switching. Staying loyal to your energy
:28:11. > :28:14.supplier could mean you're paying well over the odds by hundreds of
:28:14. > :28:17.pounds in some cases. If you feel like you've had poor customer
:28:17. > :28:20.service from any company you do business with, not just the energy
:28:20. > :28:23.ones, then make sure you complain. I always say, go right to the top
:28:23. > :28:26.if you have to, until you get some decent answers. Sometimes that's
:28:26. > :28:29.the only way. In the meantime, do keep your letters and e-mails
:28:29. > :28:32.coming in to us because we're always delighted to hear from you,