Energy account in credit: this online calculator lets you see if you're owed a bill refund from your supplier

• If you have a significant credit balance on your energy account, you may be eligible for a refund
• Firms held £3.7 billion in credit last year, leading to a loss of about £148 million in potential interest for customers
• A household with a credit balance of £252 could have earned £10.08 in interest if the money was in a bank
• The online calculator from Nous.co can help you determine if you are owed a refund
• The calculator asks just a few short and simple questions, and gives advice on the next steps you can take

If you have a significant credit balance on your energy account, you may be eligible for a refund from your supplier.

In fact, British households are missing out on over £12 million in interest each month due to energy suppliers holding onto billions in customer credit balances.

Data from Ofgem recently revealed that energy companies held £3.7 billion from customers in credit last year. As a result, energy customers across the UK lost about £148 million in potential interest in 2023.

The average household with a balance in credit had £252 in their account, which could have earned £10.08 in interest if deposited in a bank.

Campaigners and money experts are now encouraging households to reclaim credit balances from their energy suppliers to "reset" direct debit payments, which remain high despite falling prices.

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The Warm This Winter campaign emphasises that customers should not cancel their direct debits, as this could result in higher unit costs for households, but instead recommend resetting energy payments in early summer.

Early summer is typically when your balance is at its lowest, making it the ideal time for adjustments for the upcoming year, and the best time to check if you are owed any money.

Warm This Winter spokeswoman Fiona Waters said: “Energy companies are sitting on over £3 billion of bill payers’ money whilst providing an appalling service in many cases and making billions in profits.

“The Big Energy Claim Back is a way people who pay by direct debit can issue a wake up call to companies that customers are not prepared to be ripped off anymore and demand energy suppliers provide a fit for purpose service, whether that’s smart meters that actually work, customer service centres that pick up the phone, fair tariffs, an end to extortionate exit fees and just basically doing their job.”

How can I check if I’m eligible for a refund?

How can you check to see whether you’ve given your supplier too much money over recent months, and whether you can claim any of that back?

Thankfully, there are a number of handy online tools, including this one from Nous.co, which asks just a few short and simple questions before providing advice on what next steps you can and should take.

Greg Marsh, consumer champion and CEO of Nous.co, says that as a rule, if your credit balance in May was more than two thirds what you pay each month, “you should ask for a refund from your supplier.”

“If you’re considerably above that level your direct debit level is likely to be set too high and you should ask your supplier to reduce it.”

Early summer is the perfect time to ask for a refund too, as the majority of households pay energy bills by direct debit and are charged the same amount every month. As a result, most of us build credit in the summer and use it up in the winter when our usage is higher.

Greg says May is the perfect time to ask for a refund each year, but if you didn't apply then you'll likely still have minimum credit. "You’ll have used up the balance over the winter and be about to start building it up again," he said.

"So if you’ve built up credit now’s the perfect time to get back any money you’re owed."

Use the online calculator above to check your energy account balance and see if you're eligible for a refund. Have questions or want to share your experience? Use the comments section and join the conversation with other readers.