Suppliers are leaving customers to rack up average debts of more than £600 in unpaid gas and electricity bills before stepping in to help them make repayments.
For a number of companies the figure exceeds £800, Ofgem found in its latest annual report on the treatment of vulnerable customers.
The average amount owed on electricity accounts before intervention from a supplier rose by seven per cent over the last year to £628, whilst the average figure for gas accounts grew by five per cent to £622.
Ofgem singled out Npower, Utility Warehouse, Ecotricity, iSupply Energy, and First Utility as the worst performers on electricity, and Npower, Utility Warehouse and Spark Energy as the worst performers on gas. The regulator urged the suppliers to “reflect” on their performance and “act quickly” to address the issue.
“Paying off energy bills is a major concern for many customers in vulnerable situations,” said Ofgem senior partner for consumers and competition Rachel Fletcher.
“When suppliers let big debts accrue, it’s a sign that they’re not spotting debt or stepping in early enough to help customers who are struggling to pay bills.
“We want industry to demonstrate that it is identifying and supporting these customers in a timely way. We will be monitoring suppliers to make sure they make long-term improvements on bringing down debt.”
The worst performers
Source: Vulnerable consumers in the retail energy market: 2017, Ofgem
The report says suppliers are making good progress in some areas.
The number of customers in debt dropped by nine per cent for gas to around 970,000, and by three per cent for electricity to less than 1.2 million. Following a crackdown by the regulator, disconnections for debt fell to just 210, down from a peak of 8,300 a decade ago.
A record number of customers are now being offered free priority services such as gas safety tests and meter readings.
Ofgem recently announced plans to extend the prepayment price cap to a million vulnerable customers.