Martin Lewis issues 'do it now' message to millions of households ahead of this weekend

Martin Lewis has issued urgent advice ahead of a major change to energy bills at the end of the week.

From Sunday, October 1, Ofgem's new energy price cap will come into effect which will see annual bill costs drop from £2,077 to £1,923. However, to ensure you don't get over charged once the new price cap comes in, the money-saving expert has specified the best thing to do and when to do it.

During what he dubs 'meter reading week', he advises those who pay their energy with direct debit to take a meter reading in order to "draw a line in the sand" and let energy companies have a more accurate picture of how much energy you used during the higher period before prices dropped.

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Speaking to his followers on social media, Mr Lewis said: "So, the first thing is, why do a meter reading now? Well we're on a higher price, we're gonna be dropping to a lower price.

"If you just leave the energy firm to estimate it may say more of your usage was during the higher period so more of your units will be charged at a higher rate. If you do a meter reading you draw a line and you say everything before this date: higher period - everything after this date: lower period."

He added that this will mainly affect people who pay their bills via direct debit and do not have a 'working' smart meter in their property. Discussing when people should send off their meter reading, he said: "You want to get your meter reading in sometime during the next few days, even if it's a day or two after Sunday, 1st October when the price is changed it doesn't matter you can