A person who was sent an energy bill of nearly £2,000 per month was left wondering whether they were paying for their whole town. While the cost of living - and particularly energy bills - is rapidly rising, this one would surely bust the price cap.
The bill was posted online by Twitter user @FplAndSte and showed details of how British Gas was planning to take a first monthly payment of £1,954 on April 1, which would equate to yearly usage not far shy of £24,000. The tweet has since gone viral, with other people speaking of similar experiences after the user asked whether he was paying for "the whole of f***ing Bolton".
User @Rob_ladnet also shared a screenshot of a bill he had in January, which put his monthly payments to British Gas at £7,024.28. Meanwhile @amyy0506 joked she was paying for South Yorkshire after receiving a direct debit bill from Eon for £5,361.57 a month, reports the MEN.
As others shared their crazily high bills, some began to panic that their costs would start to skyrocket soon too. One Twitter user shared the news that their bill had more than doubled due to the energy crisis at the moment, which saw several energy providers go bust after wholesale prices rose.
However, suppliers say these are likely to be wrongly calculated bills. Although British Gas was unable to comment on the huge bill without more details from the customer, it did acknowledge there were several reasons a bill could be this high - even something as simple as the customer making an error inputting the meter readings.
Customers transferring from failed suppliers may also have incorrect bills due to issues getting their correct usage data from the old supplier, with these bills disappearing and being replaced by new and correct figures when that information is found.
A spokesperson from the firm said: "British Gas has contacted the customer to ask for the customer’s details so it can help resolve this issue but has had no reply."
Energy bills are set to rise in April after the energy price cap rises by 54 per cent - adding an extra £693 onto the average annual bill. The rising costs are a global problem caused by the surge in cost of wholesale gas in recent months - with gas prices around four times higher than they were last year.
During last year's long winter, countries in Europe and Asia burned through a lot of their gas reserves to heat homes, while demand is also higher than usual as the world comes out of successive lockdowns and businesses try to make up for lost time. Meanwhile, gas production is also lower, and the weather was less windy over the summer – causing more gas to be burned for electricity.
Electricity bills are also set to rise as around 40 per cent of the UK's electrical needs are being met by burning gas at power stations. Those worried about the rising energy prices can contact Citizen's Advice on 808 223 1133 or use its online webchat for support or advice.
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