An elderly widower said he was left “shocked” after British Gas sent him an energy bill of just under £23,000.
Charlie Walton, 85, lives alone in a small house in Pegswood, Northumberland, and spends half the year in Spain. But the father-of-two was sent an electricity bill demanding he pay a total of £22,897.48 for his last three months’ bill.
He received the bill for 27 June 2020 and 12 January 2024 on Saturday 20 January and was told by British Gas that he had less than a week to pay. Walton had paid his bills in full for three months and the last bill issued on November 13 last year stated there was a credit of £45.52.
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Retired firefighter said: “I couldn’t believe it. It was such a shock. I’m on my own now, my wife is dead and it’s just a little house. It’s incredible that I got the bill for this.” size… Unfortunately it arrived on Saturday and I couldn’t contact anyone. All I could do was talk to these machines and they couldn’t answer anything. “I had to wait until Monday.”
Walton admits over the phone and online that he was “absolutely desperate” and had to persuade his son-in-law Chris Berriman, 65, to help him contact British Gas to resolve the problem. However, the pair said they had not received any response and were concerned this could happen to other British Gas customers in the wake of the Post Office scandal.
Berriman, who lives in Felton, Northumberland, said: “Charlie has a house in Spain so he spends six months of the year abroad and closes everything down when he leaves. “He was very upset and worried about his credit score and the bill was due within a week. When he bought it, it was from 2020 to the present. But it has been on automatic payments since 2020.”
‘There is a glitch in the system’
The retired company director said British Gas told them over the phone that his father-in-law had moved to a new banking department. He added: “The woman tried to explain that there was a glitch in the system. She said they had suspended the bill while they reviewed it. No one has contacted us yet.”
A British Gas spokesman said the invoice was sent to the wrong address. They added: “We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. The bill does not relate to Mr Walton’s energy supply and we are contacting the housing developer to determine the correct address. We will reach out to Mr Walton.” “I ask Walton to apologize for not resolving this issue sooner and reassure me that he will no longer receive these bills.”
What should you do if your gas/electricity bill is too high?
Getting an energy bill during a cost-of-living crisis can be worrying, but it can be especially alarming if it’s higher than you think it should be. If you think your gas or electricity bill is higher than it should be, there are a few steps you can take to deal with the problem.
A higher bill could be due to either you using more energy, having faulty equipment, or increased electricity or gas prices. But in other cases, it could be an error on the part of the energy provider and they may have overcharged you.
If you think you’ve been charged too much, you should first check if your bill is an estimate; If the bill says so, take the meter reading and send it to your energy provider as soon as possible to get an accurate bill. It’s based on the energy you’ve actually used since the last payment. Your supplier should then send you an up-to-date and accurate invoice.
If you have a smart meter and your bill states that it is an estimate, it is probably not sending automatic measurements to the supplier. If the meter is not operating in ‘smart mode’, send actual meter readings to your supplier.
You should also check the dates on the invoice to make sure it is only for the period after the last payment. If the bill is for energy used more than 12 months ago, they generally cannot charge you for energy used before that.
You should also check if your prices have increased by comparing recent invoices. If you’re not sure, contact them and ask.
The bill may also be due to an incorrect or faulty meter. If you are not sure how to check if the meters are faulty, call a professional to check the meters.
If all these reasons have been checked and you still think your bill is too high, you should contact your supplier and tell them why you think you have been overcharged and give them as much information as possible, including photos of the meter reading. Make sure you keep copies of their responses and if the issue is not resolved, contact the Energy Ombudsman to lodge a complaint.