A couple from Scotland were shocked to find themselves over £13,000 in debt with their energy company overnight when they should have been nearly £200 in credit.
Police officer Stewart Neely, from Kilmarnock, found his account with OVO Energy had gone from £189.99 in credit last Monday (October 31), to £13,037.71 in arrears the next day. He usually pays £156 per month for gas and electricity, although that has recently increased to £177, reports the Daily Record.
Stewart said: “We changed to OVO energy for my gas and electricity supply last year after they took over SSE. We are always in credit on our account, but I have been keeping a close eye on the bills and usage due to rising costs.
“Last week I checked my online account and it was £189 in credit, as expected. However, last Tuesday I checked my account and to my horror discovered I was £13,000 in debt.”
The 54-year-old father of one and his wife Gayle believe the problem began when a smart gas and electric meter was installed at their four-bedroom detached house in Kilmarnock at the start of October. It was just weeks later that the huge bill came in – he also claims previous meter readings and bills were altered to reflect the higher bill.
Stewart contacted the firm and was shocked when the call handler asked if he would like to settle the balance over the phone. But at the weekend, only after the Sunday Mail asked OVO to explain the bill, they got in touch with the family to fix the error and offered a £150 bill credit.
An OVO spokeswoman said: “We’re very sorry to Mr and Mrs Neely. We have corrected the error and they’ve accepted a goodwill amount in apology for the inconvenience caused.”
Gayle, 48, said: “I got a nice call from OVO to say everything was sorted and to say a £150 credit had been added to our account as a good will gesture. It turns out if had been one of their agents that had entered an electricity reading as a gas one.”
OVO was launched in 2009 by former City trader Stephen Fitzpatrick and supplies energy to 4.5million customers. In July, it was ranked the second worst energy supplier for customer service by Citizens Advice.
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