Rebel Energy ceases trading Ofgem confirm: Martin Lewis website Money Saving Expert offers advice to customers

Following Ofgem’s announcement that Rebel Energy has ceased trading, financial whizzes at Martin Lewis’ Money Saving Expert (MSE) website has released advice for customers worried about what will happen next. The energy company supplies around 80,000 domestic customers.

The government energy regulator has assured all households supplied by Rebel, as well as its 10,000 non-domestic customers, that they will not experience any disruption to their supply. Under The Supplier Of Last Resort (SoLR) safety net, customers’ energy supply will continue and funds that domestic customers have paid into their accounts, including existing credit balances, will be protected.

The regulator said all Rebel Energy customers will be contacted by their new supplier, which will be appointed by Ofgem in the coming days. It advised customers to wait until the new supplier contacted them, in the “following weeks”, before switching to another energy firm.

Customers are also advised to take a meter reading to give to the new supplier in order to ease the switching process and protect any credit. Ofgem’s director general for markets, Tim Jarvis, said: “Rebel Energy customers do not need to worry, and I want to reassure them that they will not see any disruption to their energy supply, and any credit they may have on their accounts remains protected under Ofgem’s rules.

“We are working quickly to appoint new suppliers for all impacted customers. We’d advise customers not to try to switch supplier in the meantime, and a new supplier will be in touch in the coming weeks with further information.”

MSE says Rebel Energy also provided the underlying services for Ebico Living's 800 household customers too, who will also be affected now the company has gone under. They have bullet pointed the essential information customers of Rebel and Ebico Living's 800 need to know:

• Customers will be automatically switched to a new supplier so don’t switch companies yet.
• Gas and electricity won't be disrupted with energy supplies continuing as normal.
• A new supplier will take over in the next few days when Ofgem appoint a 'Supplier of Last Resort'.
• Customers will be moved to the new suppliers standard variable tariff.
• Once that transfer is complete, you won't be charged any exit fees if you switch supplier so carry out a comparison to find the cheapest tariff for you. Don't just just stick on the new supplier's default tariff as it will likely be more expensive.
• For anyone already in the middle of switching supplier, that switch will continue as planned but they will then be automatically switched to the new supplier Ofgem appoints.

For customers’ records, the MSE website also urge customers to take a meter reading now. The website states: “To ensure the new supplier appointed by Ofgem can bill you accurately, make a note of your gas and electricity meter readings as soon as possible. It's a good idea to take a photo of the meter readings as evidence, and email it to yourself. You can then give these to the firm when it contacts you after taking over.”

They recommend doing this even if you have a smart meter, as the new supplier may not be able to operate it in smart mode. They also suggest downloading any recent bills in case of any future bill disputes but say you don’t need to cancel direct debits just yet.

They say energy credit will be protected and customers will receive a refund from the new supplier if they do. Likewise, for customers who owe Rebel Energy any money, they will still have to pay it.