ENERGY firm Eon has angered customers by sending out socks in the post to “lower” heating bills as energy price soar.
The energy crisis has seen bills rocket adding hundreds of pounds more to households costs.
Furious customers have complained about the promotion, saying the supplier was “having a laugh” and “taking the p**s”.
It comes after another energy supplier SSE came under fire for telling its customers to do star jumps and cuddle their pets to keep warm.
The socks from E.ON arrived with a message encouraging customers to turn their heating down and reduce carbon emissions.
They were sent out to 30,000 customers who had previously shown an interest in energy saving.
One angry E.ON customer tweeted: “Seriously, energy prices are going up, Look what E.ON Next (as they’ve renamed themselves) have sent me, a pair of socks!! What the bloody hell”
Another said: ” Are you having a laugh? Putting energy prices up then take the p**s by sending a pair of socks. Is that meant to make up for not being able to heat flat.”
A third said: “I had SSE email recommending cuddling the cat and start jumps… my relative has today received from E.ON, an actual pair of socks.”
Other customers also questioned the energy saving credentials of sending out the socks.
One customer asked E.ON: “What is the carbon footprint for the manufacturing and distribution of these socks?”
The energy company has apologised to customers who got the promotional socks in the post.
A spokesperson for E.ON said: “This activity was in no way designed to detract from the seriousness of the current energy crisis and the work we are doing to lessen its impact on our customers and we’re incredibly sorry for how we have made some of our customers feel.
“This campaign originally went ahead last year and was intended as a fun way to encourage people to think about ‘lightening your carbon footprint’ and isn’t meant to be anything to do with the current challenges many people are facing.
“To help our customers E.ON has invested billions of pounds and helped millions of people around the country to improve their homes.
“That includes better insulation and more efficient heating and it also involves simpler things like providing help and advice to customers so they can use less energy in their everyday lives.”
The cost of wholesale gas has shot up this winter, pushing up bills for millions of households.
A price cap set by the energy regulator Ofgem limits the average charge for gas and electric ans is currently £1,277.
Energy customers used to be able to fix their bills and pay less, but energy company deals are now hundreds of pounds more than the cap.
More than half of Brits are now on the price cap, but that is set to rise in April and experts say it could go up by 51%, adding £600 to average bills.
The government has been urged to take action to help struggling households, as families “ration fuel and turn of fridges and freezers.
Do you have a story for The Sun Online Money team?
Email us at money@the-sun.co.uk
