AN ELDERLY woman was slapped with a £4,000 energy bill after a meter reading blunder but the company took the money without saying a word.
Brenda, who lives in a small cottage in Loughborough, was charged thousands for just two months’ energy supply because she gave an incorrect meter reading.
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The 78-year-old woman, who has used Eon Energy for 20 years, noticed the huge rise and “rogue” figure in her energy bills last month.
And when she saw the massive 2,257 per cent meter rise, she thought it was because of a single gas meter reading she had sent incorrectly to the company back in August.
Brenda’s direct debit for December came in at £1,839 – with the same sum deducted for January 2022.
The two-month rocket in prices was a massive shock as the 78-year-old normally paid just £78 a month.
She thought Eon had confused her with someone else, as the woman didn’t understand how the energy could cost so much for her little cottage.
Brenda said: “I thought they might have muddled me with someone else.
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“I am surrounded by houses in multiple occupants and this sounds like a monthly payment on a three-storey six-bedroom house, whereas I own a small cottage.
“I do tend to check carefully the figures I transmit, but in truth, I cannot say one way or another where this “rogue” figure came from.
“If an Eon reader came round, which I have a vague recollection of, they can just read the meter and carry on surely.”
Brenda, who is in her third year of chemotherapy treatment for multiple myeloma, contacted the energy firm – but she didn’t hear from them for weeks.
Experts at This is Money said the sudden and dramatic rise in her home’s energy consumption should have “rung alarm bells” at Eon.
And energy regulator Ofgem also expressed concern that Eon issued the bills before questioning the circumstances.
ENERGY CRISIS
Eon has now apologised for the issue – and say they have lowered her monthly direct debit.
But the 78-year-old is still awaiting her refund of over £3,600.
An Eon spokesperson said: “We’ve spoken to Brenda to apologise for the concern caused by the increase in her direct debit.
“We had estimated her energy use based on an incorrect meter reading previously provided by Brenda.
‘We’ve now updated Brenda’s account, refunded the overpayment and lowered her monthly direct debit.”
The firm also agreed to cut her energy bill to £72 a month. However, as of today, Brenda is still awaiting the £3,678 refund.
Ofgem said: “Protecting consumers is our top priority and we expect suppliers to identify unusual readings against historical consumption and to contact customers when such instances arise.”
