Q) I HAD a smart meter installed in May last year, but Octopus Energy continued billing me based on estimated readings.
They admitted the mistake and offered to pay me compensation, but I chased for months and didn’t hear anything else about it.
I got bored of waiting and switched suppliers in April this year, but Octopus has now billed me for another £440 which I’m sure I don’t owe.
Can you help clear this debt and get my money back?
Michael Burgess, via email
A) After years of hearing about the benefits of getting a smart meter, you agreed to have one installed in May 2023. You were promised it would mean accurate energy bills – but what happened was the opposite.
After a few months you noticed you were building up a significant debt on your account, culminating in a hefty £3,000 bill.
You increased your payments to cover this, but were sure you couldn’t be spending so much and eventually contacted Octopus to figure out why your bills were so high.
The energy firm then admitted that your smart meter wasn’t working and your bills were still being based on estimated readings.
It promised to compensate you for the inconvenience, but fast-forward to April this year and you still hadn’t received any money back.
You’d had enough and decided to switch suppliers, hoping that would be the end of it.
But a few weeks later, you were issued a final bill by Octopus for £440 which you were sure you didn’t owe.
You spent months going back and forth with Octopus to no avail and finally asked me if I could intervene.
When I spoke with Octopus, it confirmed there was a delay in updating your smart meter details, which had caused your account to estimate readings based on your previous meter.
After investigating, it has now updated your final balance and it turns out you’re £1,029 in credit rather than £440 in debt.
You never paid the final £440 bill, so Octopus has now cancelled this and has refunded the £1,029 overpayment you already made.
It’s also offered you an additional £250 goodwill gesture to compensate for the confusion.
Our Squeeze team has saved readers a total of: £179,740.
Our Squeeze Team wins back money for readers who have had a refund or billing issue with a company and are struggling to get it resolved.
We’ve won back thousands of pounds for readers including £22,000 for a man asked to pay back benefits to the DWP, £2,800 for a family who had a hellish holiday and £635 for a seller scammed on eBay.
To get help, write to our consumer champion, Laura Purkess.
I love getting your letters and emails, so do write to me at squeezeteam@thesun.co.uk or Laura Purkess, The Sun, 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF.
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