E.ON smart meter blunder sees disabled residents sent huge bills | Personal Finance | Finance
Disabled residents are refusing to pay their energy bills after an E.ON smart meter mix-up left them paying for other people’s gas and electricity for over a year. The tenants, who are living in bungalows in Green Lane, Worcester, have said they’re at their “wits’ end” as they’re still unsure whose bill they’re paying.
After repeatedly being sent larger than normal bills, resident Jane Bamford, 58, said: “When I gave meter readings the call handler told me it was not registered as my meter. I simply replied, ‘It is – it’s stuck to my wall’.”
Ms Bamford says she was then told by engineers the meters were mixed up and that she is paying her neighbour’s bill.
Ms Bamford said: “I’m fed up with E.ON asking me to send photos and videos of meter readings, especially as engineers had already been out. They’re saying I’m in debt. But it’s not my debt. It’s a neighbour’s.”
She added: “What someone else is using – I’m getting billed for. I’m stopping paying my direct debit. I have absolutely had it.”
READ MORE: Cheapest method for boiling water isn’t always in a kettle
According to Ms Bamford, one bill from March 12 to 21 recorded her estimated annual cost as £925 for electricity and £1,027 for gas, which was above the amount she is using.
Ms Bamford has since received a letter from E.ON saying the Energy Supply Ombudsman had asked the company to credit £150 to her account as a “gesture of goodwill for the shortfalls in customer service and inconvenience caused”.
While a neighbour was assured the issue had been resolved, Ms Bamford refuses to believe E.ON.
She said: “My neighbour Alan was told by a call handler the problem was sorted. I told the call handler, ‘It’s not sorted’. We are paying other people’s bills. It’s not acceptable. We have all got disabilities.”
Her neighbour Alan, 68, is recovering from a stroke and suffers from Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
He said: “I’m stopping my direct debit. I’m prepared to pay for what I use. I’m not paying for someone else. I believe the meters should be removed and new ones put in.”
Lily, 54, who is bed-bound and suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure, which leaves her at risk of strokes, claims E.ON threatened to send bailiffs to her home.
READ MORE: Britons face paying extra £4,500 a year in bills from this week
“Why the hell should I now pay for someone else who decided to have their radiators blaring all day?”
An E.ON spokesperson said: “A thorough investigation is being undertaken as to how this matter came about. Situations like this can take a while to resolve as there are normally multiple parties involved, including other customers and sometimes suppliers.
“We are doing all we can to get this resolved as quickly as possible. We are sorry for the inconvenience caused during this time and we will not be charging for any energy costs until this matter is sorted.”
