Ofgem has urged energy suppliers to promptly address billing errors, following a significant billing error that resulted in a man, being charged £244,000 via direct debit.
Patrick Langmaid, the owner of a holiday park, normally pays £2,500 monthly, but a meter error generated an automatic invoice collecting the inflated amount from his business account.
TotalEnergies, the supplier, admitted that a human error led to the failure to cancel the inflated invoice.
Dhara Vyas, Deputy Chief Executive of Energy UK, said that millions of bills were sent out on a rolling basis, so mistakes were inevitable.
Ms Vyas said: “Sometimes they are a human error. Sometimes they are an automation or a machine error. “It is really important that a supplier acts quickly to put it right, communicates well and tells the customer what they are doing, and also offers compensation where it is appropriate.”
