Thousands of Brit customers ripped off by energy giants confusing old imperial gas meters with newer metric ones
THOUSANDS of British gas consumers have been ripped off by energy suppliers making simple errors with meter readings, industry experts have revealed.
Companies have been making the mistake of confusing old imperial gas meters, which measure usage in cubic feet, with metric ones, which measure based on cubic meters.
Ripped off … energy suppliers have made the mistake of reading imperial meters as metric, and vice versa, to the detriment of thousands of Brits
While the error has benefited customers whose metric meters will have been read as if they were imperial, some customers with imperial meters have been overcharged by 130 percent or more due to the gaffe.
E.ON, one of the biggest energy providers to the UK, found several hundred customers affected by the error.
E.ON … several hundred customers affected by simple error
Speaking on the blunder, the firm said: “Our investigatory work is continuing but these customers will not have to take any action.
“We will update further as our work progresses.”
suppliers to check their billing records to determine how many consumers might have been affected by the error.
The industry watchdog believes each of the six big suppliers have been affected, along with at least one independent company.
In an interview with the Financial Times, one executive said companies would be forced to set up a compensation scheme to refund those left short-changed.
Ofgem … energy regulator orders suppliers to check billing records
Industry body Energy UK has announced it is working with firms to “investigate and address a gas metering issue,” which has potentially influenced “an extremely small number of accounts.”
It said: “Anyone who has been affected will be contacted directly and any incorrect billing or charging will be sorted out as quickly as possible, including any refunds where necessary.”
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