A 91-year-old pensioner was left "rather concerned" after a letter from his energy company said his direct debit would be increased by £168 and that he owed the firm more than £1,000.
Howard Peters, who lives in Winterbourne in South Gloucestershire, has been an EDF Energy customer for years and pays his bill via direct debit.
The widower said in his bill is usually around £24, with it occasionally rising to £29 during the winter months.
So when he received a letter at the end of last week telling him his direct debit would be increased to £192 a month it was quite a shock.
'For that amount of money I could be running a cannabis factory'
“I just didn’t understand how they had come to that figure, especially as I live by myself,” said Mr Peters.
“It was supposedly an estimate based on a metre reading, but considering what a huge jump it was you would have thought someone would have double checked it.
“For that amount of money I could be running a cannabis factory, although I’d have a tough time doing so as I don’t know what it looks like.”
The letter from EDF also told Mr Peters he owed the firm £1,111.
“I was rather concerned and surprised when I read this part, I just didn’t know how it had happened," he added.
“I thought surely there must be some mistake. But again I would have expected some due diligence on behalf of the firm.
“I mean someone must have looked at my account and thought that this didn’t add up.
Thankfully Mr Peters contacted the customer relations team at EDF about the letter - which he said was in no way threatening - and they reduced his direct debit amount to £36.
The firm has said the letter was sent based on an “incorrect meter reading”.
What EDF has said
EDF has said that based on the correct metre reading Mr Peters remaining balance was £38.38, which the firm has agreed to pay-off for him bringing his account back to zero.
A spokesperson from EDF Energy said: “We are sorry for any distress Mr Peters has experienced.
“The bill he received was based on an incorrect meter reading we had received and we have since confirmed the correct meter reading and adjusted Mr Peters’ account accordingly to reflect his actual energy use.”
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