ENERGY firms have been accused of "exploiting" millions of loyal customers by charging them over the odds by as much as £324 for gas and electricity. Providers regularly hike prices for existing customers while newcomers take advantage of cheaper deals elsewhere, new research has found. It means that households could be overpaying for their gas and electricity by up to a third if they don't regularly switch suppliers. Autoswitching service Look After My Bills reckons that collectively, households are missing out on around £1.9billion as a result. The loyalty penalty is the difference between what a firm charges for its standard variable tariff - what you roll on to when yours has come to an end - and the cheapest fixed rate deals offered to new customers. A price cap introduced by the watchdog Ofgem limits the amount companies can charge for gas and electricity to stop customers on standard variable rate tariffs (SVR) paying over the odds. How to switch suppliers … [Read more...] about Energy firms including British Gas and E.On are ‘exploiting’ loyal customers by charging them £324 a year extra