Cut your energy bills by a third? No, these ‘energy-saving p...

Energy bills are on the rise and winter is coming. The solution? How about a plug-in box which promises to save you money by making household appliances work more efficiently. Or maybe you can drive down your usage by putting in a “voltage regulator” that can cut your costs by almost a third.

The reality is that, at best, these “energy-saving plugs” or “eco plugs” will do nothing apart from bill you for a useless piece of plastic. At worst, they are dangerous and won’t even pass basic electrical safety standards.

This time of year, when the cost of energy is at the forefront of people’s mind, is when people are pushed with any number of scams linked to their bills. This could be a fake energy rebate text message, a message claiming you need to apply for a government payout, or criminals knocking on the front door claiming to be from the regulator Ofgem and that they need to update your details.

Devices that plug in to your sockets and claim to affect the flow of electricity could do much more physical damage, if you even get them in the post in the first place, says Siobhan Blagbrough, the financial crime manager at Ocean Finance.

“These scams usually involve plug-in devices, magnetic meters, or ‘voltage regulators’ that claim to cut household bills by 30% or more. The marketing is slick, often coming with fake Trustpilot reviews or phoney ‘expert endorsements’, but the devices either do nothing or can actually be unsafe,” she says.

“Some victims hand over hundreds for a gadget that never arrives. Others get a cheap, unsafe electrical item that can overheat or cause fires. In the worst cases, criminals use the purchase process to harvest card details for further fraud.”

The plug-in devices are sold for less than £10 and often claim they will save you money by managing the electricity supply efficiently, therefore reducing your electricity bill.

They are on sale widely online despite failing basic UK safety standards. The consumer group Which? reported a number of listings earlier this year, which were then removed. But almost identical devices emerged a few weeks later.

“If a device really could cut energy bills by hundreds of pounds, it would be sold by major retailers and recommended by trusted consumer groups. The fact that it’s being flogged on social media or through cold calls is the red flag,” says Blagbrough.

What the scam looks like

The devices are often labelled as “eco-plus” or “energy saving plugs” and are advertised and sold through social media or via cold calls. There may be fake endorsements attached to the adverts.

Often, the sale is simply a scam and people will receive nothing after the payment goes through. Or the payment details may be used by the criminals selling them for other crimes.

If the plastic devices do arrive, they often have poor-quality soldering, contain too much lead, and are potentially unsafe. A Which? investigation of some devices found the pins were often too short or snapped off easily.

What to do

Be wary of what you buy online, especially from ads on social media.

If you see an ad which has a misleading claim or product, then report it to the platform it is being sold on and to your local trading standards office.

“If you want to make your home more efficient, stick to proven measures like insulation, boiler tweaks, or smart thermostats” says Blagbrough.