Thousands of people could be running up arrears with their energy suppliers because direct debits are set up only to cover predicted bills rather than the final amount.

Up to a third of all bills could be wrong because they are not based on accurate meter readings but an estimate of what consumers will use, according to gas and electricity watchdog Energywatch.

When the properly calculated bill is then issued it is, in many cases higher, than what was first suggested.

The Citizen's Advice Bureau (CAB) said it had received a flood of inquiries from people who realised they had racked up debts because of the system.

Some customers have discovered they owe up to £1,000.

It will come as bad news to many families already tightening their belts because of the credit crunch and rise in food prices, which has already increased monthly bills.

CAB spokesman Tony Herbert said: “Families can rack up huge fuel bills without even realising it because the amount they’re paying is actually based on estimated readings.

“They might have a direct debit set up; they might think they’re paying their bills, but because they’re paying on estimated readings it may not reflect how much they’re actually using.”

Adam Scorer from Energywatch said consumers were struggling because the bills were not collated using "real consumption" data.

“You can just imagine the problems that will come out from the fact that a third of bills in Britain are by and large wrong," he said.

But the Energy Retail Association, which represents the major energy suppliers in the UK, said the majority of the 200 million bills sent out annually were correct.



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