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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Business
Levi Winchester

Energy firm GOTO goes bust leaving 22,000 homes without supplier in latest crisis

Energy firm GOTO has become the latest supplier to collapse due to the rising price of gas, leaving 22,000 homes in limbo.

It marks the fourth energy company to have gone bust this month.

Pure Planet, Colorado Energy and Daligas have all ceased trading over the last two weeks, affecting almost 250,000 customers.

Before that, nine other energy suppliers went out of business in September - including Igloo, Avro and Green - with more than one million people left without a gas and electricity provider.

We've got a full list of all the energy firms that have gone under here.

Energy firms are struggling under rising gas costs (PA)

Energy companies have been struggling against rising prices of wholesale gas - with costs increasing by 250% since the start of the year.

This includes a 50% rise since just August, sparking fears more energy firms could go under.

Surging prices have also led to the energy price cap - which sets a limit on the rates you pay - has just shot up, meaning a rise in energy bills for 15million households.

Ofgem has raised the price cap for standard and default tariffs from £1,138 for a typical user to £1,277 - an increase of £139.

Meanwhile, the price cap for prepayment customers rose by £153 from £1,156 to £1309.

Are you worried about the cost of energy rising? Or has your supplier collapsed? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk

A note on the GOTO website reads: "Customers need not worry, their supplies are secure and funds that domestic customers have paid into their accounts will be protected if they are in credit.

"Ofgem’s advice is not to switch, but to wait until they appoint a new supplier for you.

"This will help make sure that the process of handing customers over to a new supplier, and honouring domestic customers’ credit balances, is as hassle free as possible for customers."

What to do next if you're affected

GOTO customers are being advised by Ofgem to sit tight and wait until your new supplier to contact you.

You should wait until you know which firm you've been moved to before you decide to look into switching elsewhere.

In the meantime, you should take a meter reading for when your new supplier contacts you.

The good news is, your energy supply will continue as normal while Ofgem is deciding which energy firm to move you to.

Ofgem also says any credit balances will be protected, so you shouldn't be left out of pocket.

If you're owed money by your old energy firm, your new supplier should pay you back any money you're due.

Similarly, if you owe money, this will need to be paid back to your original energy firm, the administrator or to the new supplier.

Ofgem, or you new energy firm, should provide you with more information in due course.

If you do decide to switch, you won't be charged exit fees for switching away from your new supplier.

But you should note, consumer expert Martin Lewis says consumers who want cheaper energy deals shouldn't shop around like normal.

He said the best thing to do is pick deals that match their energy providers' price cap - or wait until they fall onto one when their current deal ends.

In the past, the cheapest energy deals were normally fixed rate deals, not variable rate ones - which many consumers ended up on by default when their contract expired.

But now the rising cost of energy has turned normal advice on its head.

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