HOUSEHOLDS in Bradford are spending around £40 million more than they need to on energy bills says a campaign backed by Dragon’s Den star Sarah Willingham.

She has joined forces with independent energy provider First Utility to warn local people about their overspend and to urge them to shop around for cheaper prices.

First Utility, which supplies nearly four per cent of UK households, says overspending on energy bills has become a chronic problem in Yorkshire as a whole, costing the region £355 million this year - the highest amount in the country.

Sarah Willingham, co-founder of the consumer champion website Letssavemoney.com, said: “It’s outrageous that for so many people in Bradford and across Yorkshire, loyalty doesn’t pay. Switching only takes a few minutes, and people could save hundreds of pounds a year.

“I’m right behind First Utility in highlighting the injustice of the energy market today and their determination to stop unfair overcharging by the big energy companies."

Ed Kamm, UK managing director of First Utility, said recent data revealed 40 per cent of Yorkshire households had not switched energy supplier in the last three years -above the national average of 38 per cent.

He said: “Yorkshire is the worst region in terms of overspend and this is down to the tactics of the largest energy companies.

"They deliberately keep their own customers in the dark about the better deals they have on offer. We want to help customers to realise that loyalty isn’t valued by these big firms. We’re encouraging people to take back control, stand up to their provider and switch away.

"Ironically it’s the most loyal customers of the biggest energy suppliers who are stuck on these expensive tariffs, which has mainly come about due to them being kept the dark about cheaper deals.

"Little is done to help them switch onto better value fixed price plans and in some cases the cheapest deals are only reserved for new customers, and actually funded with the money from existing customers’ overspending on the standard tariff."

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