Energy Bill Checklist (UK)
Keep this open while you check your bill. It covers the most common causes of surprise highs: estimated reads, wrong dates, standing charge, tariff confusion and payment-plan mix-ups.
BillDecoded printable bill checklist
Use this checklist before you contact your supplier. It helps you separate reading issues, tariff issues and monthly-payment issues so your complaint is specific from the start.
- Check start date, end date and billed days.
- Check whether the readings are actual or estimated.
- Check the meter serial number and register if relevant.
- Recalculate usage cost and standing charge separately.
- Decide whether the real issue is billing, direct debit or an older balance.
Get the checklist and request bill updates
Download the checklist now. You can also leave your email to request future bill updates; this form records your request and does not send the checklist by email. Ask us to remove your address through the contact page.
Download the free checklist (PDF) — no email needed.
The full checklist, on screen
The PDF is there if you want to print it. This is the same thing, in a form you can work through with the bill open on another tab. Twenty minutes, and you will know which of six problems you actually have.
Part 1 — The bill itself
| Check | Where to look | If it is wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Is the account number and supply address correct? | Top of the bill | Wrong account entirely. Stop and call. |
| 2 | What period does it cover, and how many days? | Bill header | Compare cost per day with the last bill, not totals. |
| 3 | Does the period overlap with the previous bill? | Last four bills, side by side | Double-billed days. Query it. |
| 4 | Is each reading marked A, E, C or S? | Detailed charges | E means estimated. That is usually the whole answer. |
| 5 | Does the opening reading match the last bill's closing reading? | Two bills side by side | A gap or overlap needs explaining. |
Part 2 — The meter
| Check | Where to look | If it is wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Does the closing reading match your meter today, allowing for usage since? | Go and look | Wrong reading |
| 7 | Does the meter serial number match the bill? | Meter plate | Serial mismatch |
| 8 | Two-rate meter? Are day and night the right way round? | Both registers | Register errors |
| 9 | With everything off at the consumer unit, does the meter still advance? | 15-minute test | Meter fault or crossed meters |
Part 3 — The arithmetic
| Check | Working | If it is wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Units used | Closing − opening | Recheck the readings. |
| 11 | Unit cost | Units × p/kWh ÷ 100 | Check which unit rate applies to which part of the period. |
| 12 | Standing charge | Days × p/day ÷ 100 | Standing charges |
| 13 | Do the two add up to the bill total? | Within a pound or two | Ask for the calculation in writing. |
| 14 | Is VAT included in the rates shown, or added at the end? | Detailed charges footer | Getting this wrong puts you out by exactly 5%. |
Part 4 — The payment plan (a separate question)
| Check | Where to look | If it is wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | What forecast annual consumption is your direct debit built on? | Ask — it is rarely on the bill | Direct debit calculator |
| 16 | What is the account balance, and which way? | Account screen | Credit balance |
| 17 | Is any of the monthly amount recovering arrears? | Ask | Ask over what period. Six months doubles a payment. |
| 18 | Is a credit balance still growing in March? | Balance history | Ask for a refund |
Part 5 — Old charges
| Check | Working | If it is wrong | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Bill date minus 12 months — write it down | ||
| 20 | Do any charges relate to energy used before that date? | Breakdown by supply period | Back-billing rules |
| 21 | Was there a long run of estimates before this bill? | Last four bills | Catch-up bill |
At the end of the checklist
You should be able to finish this sentence: “The problem is ______, the evidence is ______, and what I want is ______.” If you can, go to the complaint template. If you cannot, the bill is probably arithmetically correct and the real question is about usage — start at why the bill is high.
The evidence to collect while you are at it
Gather these now, whether or not you end up complaining. Every one of them is easier to get today than in three months, and if this does reach the Energy Ombudsman they are exactly what decides it.
Bills
Full PDFs of the last four, not screenshots of balances. Named by date so they sort properly.
Meter photos
Reading and serial number, original files. The date is in the file metadata, which is why originals beat screenshots.
Reading submissions
Screenshots of every confirmation. This is what makes “you never gave us readings” unusable.
Correspondence
Emails and chat transcripts in date order. Save chat transcripts before they expire — many are only kept for a limited time.
Account balance history
Screenshots at a few dates. Suppliers show the current balance and not always the history.
A one-page timeline
Date, what happened, evidence held. Written once, it does the work in every message you send afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the checklist take?
About twenty minutes with the bill open, and one trip to the meter. The fifteen-minute consumer-unit test in part two is only needed if the earlier checks have not explained the problem.
Do I need to print the PDF?
No. The full checklist is on this page and works fine on a phone with the bill open in another tab. The PDF exists for people who prefer to work on paper next to the meter.
What if everything checks out?
Then the bill is arithmetically correct and the question is about usage rather than billing. That is a different investigation — start with why the bill is high and work through the loads that actually move a bill.