Four energy scams that will chill you

Household energy bills may have fallen from their unprecedented 2022 levels, but the average bill remains more than 50% higher than it was in winter 2021/22, before the cost of living crisis.

Many households have had to make do with colder homes, while others find ways to improve energy efficiency.

As we enter the colder months, con artists are poised to capitalise on widespread money worries with a range of scams.

Find out how criminals are targeting people and how to protect yourself from their schemes.

 Read our latest cost of living advice and tips

Ofgem impostors

Brazen fraudsters are posing as the energy regulator Ofgem to offer free boilers. 

Victims typically receive a cold call, email, text or doorstep visit from someone claiming to represent the regulator and asking for their bank details.

Cover stories used by the con artists include helping you switch to a cheaper provider or tariff, or offering a grant or a free new boiler and other energy efficiency upgrades in your home.

It comes more than a year after Which? warned of a bogus email and website using the Ofgem logo.

• Never simply hand over your personal or bank details. Always pause and take five minutes to think about how to verify what you've been told using trusted contact details. A genuine representative wouldn't mind you doing this.

Fake pre-payment offer

If you had a knock on your door from someone offering half-price energy on your prepayment meter, would you be tempted?

Action Fraud is warning that gangs of criminals are cloning prepayment meter keys with, for example, £100 of credit on them, before selling them door-to-door for just £50. Sometimes the criminals even pose as energy company employees.

This may seem like a good deal to householders but it can backfire spectacularly months or years down the line. Eventually, your legitimate supplier realises you’re not buying enough energy to be consistent with normal use, and investigates you.

You may then find yourself paying again for the energy used – this time at full whack – so you end up paying more than if you'd paid the honest way.

• Never engage with or purchase any goods or services from doorstep salespeople because you may struggle to locate them again and obtain a refund if you have problems with your purchase. Don’t let anyone into your home unless you were already expecting them.

Solar scammers

Solar panels have become more common in the UK and some households have had them in place for a decade or more.

These systems require maintenance and repair and, in a few cases, the firms that originally installed them have stopped trading.

Customers of those defunct firms have reported being approached out of the blue and offered a free check of their installation.

This is often accompanied by a high-pressure attempt to sell a maintenance contract or a forceful suggestion that the system needs expensive repairs.

If you are in this situation, ask the company how it got your contact details and whether it has consent to contact you. If it's behaving disreputably from the outset, that's a major red flag.

At best, services could be overpriced with shoddy workmanship; at worst, a scammer could take your money and run.

As with the solar panel systems themselves, you should not feel pressured into signing a contract with a new company without having all the information you need to make the decision. Ideally, you should see clear calculations demonstrating how their services will increase the benefit you get from your solar panels, set against its cost.

• Do your homework before signing up, obtain several quotes and check websites and reviews carefully. Read our advice on solar panel cold calls to watch out for.

Meter tampering

Last year, Ofgem warned of claims circulating on social media that you can save money on energy bills by tampering with your meter.

In June 2023, research from insurer Direct Line revealed that 30% of electricians and gas engineers had spotted signs of meter tampering while on call-outs.

Bypassing your meter or removing pipework might save you a few pounds but it can be exceptionally dangerous – not just for you, but for unsuspecting neighbours. 

In 2021, toddler George Arthur Hinds died in a gas explosion at his family home in Heysham, near Morecambe, because the next-door neighbour Darren Greenham had removed a length of gas pipe with an angle grinder to sell it for scrap, and had also bypassed his gas meter to steal gas.

Greenham pleaded guilty to manslaughter, damaging a gas meter and theft of gas, and was jailed for 15 years.

• If you suspect a meter has been tampered with, you can report it anonymously to Stay Energy Safe on 0800 023 2777. If you smell gas, open the doors and windows, turn off the gas (if you can do so safely), exit the property and call 0800 111999.