Energy Company Charged Consumers Inflated Prices in Gas Boiler Scrappage Scheme

Figures now show that big energy companies charged, on average, one-third more than independent energy suppliers. These big name companies charged inflated installation prices to consumers during a government scheme meant to help householders replace old boilers with new ones.

These figures show that these big companies, in some regions, charged almost 60 percent more than some of the independent companies. The figures show that having a boiler installed by an energy supplier cost, on average, £812 more than using a small to medium independent supplier. It even cost about £703 more than a large installer company.

In other regions, the discrepancy was even higher than that. Reports show that the West Midlands were hit the hardest. In this area, the average cost charged by energy companies to replace a boiler was £3,590. This was a difference of £1,335 and 60% higher than a smaller suppliers.

The scheme, which was launched back in January of this year, offered households up to £400 towards the cost of replacing their old boilers with a new A rated energy efficient model. The typical cost of buying and installing these boilers is about £2,500.

Some energy companies, like Npower, E.On and British Gas, offered an additional £400 discount to consumers upgrading their boilers through the scheme. This means that most people were getting £800 off their boilers. That is an amazing deal right? Wrong! Due to the mark up of installation, most people were paying about £500 more for their boilers than what they would normally pay for boilers. This is a case in which energy companies were taking advantage of people.