A RETIRED factory worker was horrified after British Gas demanded he pay them £3,500 – even though they aren’t even his provider.
Allen Frusher, 78, was adamant he was being scammed after receiving three British Gas bills to his Cambridgeshire home.
Allen Frusher from Wisbech by his electric meter cupboard after receiving bills to a total of £3500
He and his wife have been using E.ON and are up to date with their payments
The pensioner has been with E.ON in the home he has lived in since 1968 – and he’s never missed a payment.
Allen first got a February bill in the mail from British Gas demanding £352.48 – but was certain he was in danger of falling victim to a scam so ignored it.
He’d forgotten all about it until he saw another bill, addressed to ‘the occupier’ of his long-time home, on June 21 with an eye-watering updated balance of £4462.
He told HOAR Online: “I thought it was a scam. The first one came, it didn’t have my name on it – it was just addressed to the owner of the property – that was for about £400.
“I thought ‘well, I have nothing do do with British Gas whatsoever, so I tore it up and ignored it.
“Then another one came through, this one was for £4400 so I thought ‘right, I am being scammed here’, so I tore that up and threw that away.”
Allen was horrified to see just days later the next bill on July 5 with again updated balance of £3562.90.
He said: “That went in the bin as well.”
The anxiety around the mysterious bills heightened a few weeks ago when a meter reader from Morrisons – on behalf of British Gas – turned up on his doorstep to check the meters.
Allen, who lives with his wife Susan, said he thought it was a bit odd because he’s on a smart meter, so they don’t come and read it.
He showed the man his meter only for him to realise there was no British Gas meter in his home. Allen explained the situation with the bills to the worker, who said he would sort it out.
‘NOT A GOOD FEELING’
But over the weekend, Allen got a letter from a collection agency demanding the fee for gas he hasn’t used.
He tossed that too but is living in fear people chasing the outstanding amount are going to turn up to his home.
The whole ordeal has been distressing for the couple who have been anxious of debt collectors.
With their adult children living away from home, Allen has been unsure about who is going to come to the door.
He said: “You’re worried ain’t ya, that somebody’s going to come around the door.
“When the meter man came over and said it was wrong, he said they’d still perhaps sent the heavies around. It’s not a good feeling.”
After the couple living with uncertainty for months, a British Gas spokesperson has now told HOAR Online an error has been made.
They said: “We’re really sorry that this bill, addressed to the ‘occupier’, was sent to the wrong address in error.
“We’ve been in touch to reassure that we have removed the address from our records to resolve this and will make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
The bill has been cancelled and Allen has been told to ignore any correspondence that may already be on it’s way.
An E.ON spokesperson told HOAR: “We have spoken to Mr Frusher to reassure him that he continues to be supplied by E.ON Next.
“We are pleased that British Gas has rectified its mistake and that this matter is now resolved.”
CHECKING YOUR ENERGY BILL
Citizens Advice urges anyone who believes their energy bills may be too high or sent to the wrong home to find out what happened.
They urge occupiers to look at the most recent bill, find the meter readings and then compare it to the number on the bill.
There’s a chance your supplier might have billed you for someone else’s meter if there’s a big difference.
You possibly could have provided an inaccurate reading.
It’s important to contact your supplier and give them the new reading you should ask them to check you’ve been billed for the right meter and ask for a new bill with the correct information.
There’s a chance a supplier could have increased prices because of changes to the ‘energy price cap‘ – but they should let you know.
The government has offered help to millions of households to counter the rising cost giving £350 off energy bills.
You should check you’re taking advantage of all the help already available through government, local, and energy company schemes.
