by An elderly widower says he was left “in shock” 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 dad-of-two was sent an electricity bill demanding he pay a total of £22,897.48 for his latest quarterly bill.
He received the bill, dated between 27 June 2020 and 12 January 2024, on Saturday 20 January British Gas was told he had less than a week to pay it. Walton had paid all his quarterly bills and the last one, issued on November 13 last year, said he had £45.52 in credit.
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The retired firefighter said: “I couldn’t believe it. It was such a shock. I’m on my own now, my wife died, and it’s just a small house. It’s unbelievable that I have a bill for that .size… Unfortunately it came on Saturday and I couldn’t get in touch with anyone. All I could do was talk to these machines and they couldn’t answer anything. I had to wait until Monday.”
Walton admits he is “absolutely hopeless” on the phone and online and has had to help his son-in-law Chris Berriman, 65, contact British Gas to resolve the issue. However, the pair say they have heard nothing back and are concerned that, following the Post Office scandal, this could be happening to other British Gas customers.
Berriman, who lives in Felton, Northumberland, said: “Charlie has a house in Spain so he spends six months of the year abroad and turns everything when he leaves. He was very upset and worried about credit rating like the bill had to be paid in a week. When he got the bill it was from 2020 to today. But he’s been paying direct debit since 2020.”
‘Glitch in the system’
The retired company director said British Gas told them over the phone that his father-in-law had been transferred to a new banking department. He added: “The lady tried to explain that there must be a glitch in the system. She said they had put that bill on hold while they looked into it. No one has been in touch yet.”
A spokesman for British Gas said the bill had been sent to the wrong address. They added: “We are sorry for any disruption this has caused. The bill does not relate to Mr Walton’s energy supply and we are following up with the housing developer to identify the correct address. We will contact the Mr. Walton apologizes for not resolving this sooner and reassures that he will not receive these bills again.”
What to do if your gas/electricity bill is too high
Getting an energy bill during the cost of living crisis is a concern, but if it’s higher than you think it should be, it’s a particular concern. If you feel that your gas or electricity bill is higher than it should be, there are a number of steps you can take to deal with the issue.
A higher bill could be because you used more energy, you have faulty equipment or the price of electricity or gas has risen. But in other cases it could be an error on the part of the energy supplier and they have overcharged you.
If you think you have been overcharged, you should first check to see if your bill is estimated – if the bill says this, take a meter reading and send it to your energy supplier as soon as possible to get an accurate bill, based on the energy you have actually used since the last payment. Your supplier should then send you an updated, accurate bill.
If you have a smart meter and your bill says estimated, it’s probably not sending automatic readings to the supplier. If the meter is not working in ‘smart mode’, send the actual meter readings to your supplier.
You should also check the dates on the bill to ensure it is only for the period since the last payment. If a bill is for energy used more than 12 months ago, they usually can’t charge you for the energy used before that.
You should also check if your prices have gone up by comparing recent bills. If you are not sure, contact them and ask.
The bill may also be for the wrong or faulty meter. Contact a professional to check the meters if you are not sure how to check if they are faulty yourself.
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, giving as much information as possible and it can, including photos of meter readings. Make sure to keep copies of their responses and if the issue is not rectified, contact the Energy Ombudsman to make a complaint.
