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A British Gas customer was left “stressed and upset” after being hit with a shocking energy bill totalling nearly £5,500.
He has issued a £5,400 warning to all other customers after being hit by an unwelcome energy bill with “no explanation”.
Michael Cowdery received a bill for £5,402 in September, after four years of issues with a smart meter installed at his property in 2019.
He stated the bill was accrued between February 20 and August 31 this year and was inaccurate as they were based on his smart faulty smart meter.
Mr Cowdery was stunned to see the inaccurate bill and left “stressed and upset”.
The 86-year-old told Gazette and Herald: “The estimates they were making are just ridiculous, and they gave me no explanation for the bill.
“The situation was stressful, and it took three attempts over a week to sort it out, that bill would’ve eaten into my savings and been a disaster for us.
“When you get into your 80s things appear more stressful than when you’re younger, so I’m very upset about the way it’s been dealt with because I just want it to run like clockwork.”
British Gas has since apologised for the incident and emphasised that they have reached out to Mr Cowdery to try and mitigate any distress caused.
After Mr Cowdery contacted them to explain the mistake, they sent him a more accurate revised bill of £1,928.
As he is still sceptical of the meters, Mr Cowdery is taking his own readings from the gas meter at the front of his house.
He added: “I’m 86 and have had two knee operations so I am nervous about going out there in the cold and ice in winter.”
A British Gas spokesperson said: ” “We’re very sorry as the bill Mr Cowdery received was based on estimated meter readings which were incorrect.
“We’ve since sent a revised bill based on meter readings that he has provided and have installed a new gas smart meter.
“We’ve reached out to Mr Cowdery to apologise for any upset that may have been caused and have applied a credit to his account as a goodwill gesture.”
