£180 for not paying by direct debit

• Penalty will go towards fund to encourage households to switch energy supplier
• Households on prepayment meters are not unfairly charged for paying their bills in this way, Ofgem finds

Scottish Power has been ordered to pay £750,000 after the energy watchdog revealed it was charging its customers £180 a year more every year if they did not pay by direct debit.

The energy company will pay the funds to Energy Best Deal, which is a public awareness campaign aimed at encouraging households to shop around for the best energy deals.

Rules from the regulator Ofgem state that energy suppliers can only have different prices for different payment methods if the amount reflects the costs involved in supplying those accounts.The rules are designed so that some customers do not end up getting ripped off for paying in a particular way.Most energy suppliers do offer a discount for paying by direct debit, because it costs them less to collect payments in this way than other methods............Read more here