Pensioner is hit with £24,000 electricity bill... and ordered to pay back £2,000 a WEEK
A pensioner has been hit with a whopping £24,010 electricity bill for a house that is hardly used thanks to an allegedly faulty meter.
Lin Lawler, who owns Grange Farmhouse in Hainford, Norfolk, uses the five-bedroom house and adjoining annex as a holiday rental for just over 100 days a year.
But despite the limited use, energy supplier SmartestEnergy has issued the huge bill for the past year's consumption - and will cut off her power unless she agrees to pay it back at £2,022 per week, she claimed.
Ms Lawler, 70, said: 'I just can't afford it. They've got their hands around my throat and their hands in my pocket.'
Ms Lawler's holiday let - which is available for £2,195 for seven nights - is situated on a 50-acre farm with a koi pond.
She was stunned when she started receiving monthly bills totalling thousands of pounds and complained numerous times to the company's customer service team, she says.
In February of this year, the company charged her £3,217 for a month's worth of electricity.
Ms Lawler got in touch with the Energy Ombudsman who was unable to find enough evidence to show the meter was over-recording.
But despite the limited use, energy supplier SmartestEnergy has issued the huge bill for the past year's consumption - and will cut off her power unless she agrees to pay it back at £2,022 per week, she claimed
Finally, she says a customer service call handler 'slipped up' by admitting that the company was unable to communicate with her smart meter.
In October 2024, engineers were called out to inspect the meter.
Ms Lawler recalled: 'One of them said the readings were like that of a factory and I should only be paying about £200 a month, not thousands.
'He said he was condemning the meter as it was faulty and not communicating properly.'
The meter was replaced in March, and her bills immediately dropped.
This May, she was charged £183, compared to £1,675 the year before.
However, SmartestEnergy is still demanding the full £24,000, has cancelled her new cheaper contract, and installed a pre-payment meter.
Ms Lawler said: 'If they cut me off, I'll lose my bookings, my income - everything. They'll bankrupt me.'
Broadland and Fakenham MP Jerome Mayhew called it 'a crazy case' and pledged to support Ms Lawler.
He said: 'I have contacted Smartest Energy to make sure that this case is properly investigated and my team will continue to support Ms Lawler until she gets a successful resolution.'
A spokesman for Energy Ombudsman said: 'Energy Ombudsman offers a free and independent service to help resolve disputes between energy suppliers and consumers.
'In the initial complaint we determined that usage at the property was relatively high, but there wasn't enough evidence to show the meter was over-recording.
'We therefore recommended that Ms Lawler request a meter accuracy test.
'Following the completion of the remedies it is clear that Ms Lawler remains in dispute with the supplier and therefore we're now going to look at the matter again.'
SmartestEnergy was approached for comment.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
17 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Under-threat bioethanol plant says talks with Government a ‘positive signal'
But the firm, which is owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), said it is simultaneously beginning consultation with staff to wind down the plant, which employs more than 160 people, due to the uncertain situation – a process which could see production stop before September 13, if support is not provided. An ABF spokesperson said: 'We are extremely pleased to be entering the next phase of formal negotiations with Government over the future of Vivergo. 'We believe it is a very positive signal that Government recognises the strategic importance of a domestic bioethanol industry, and is serious about working with the sector to find a sustainable long-term future. 'We look forward to engaging intensively and constructively with ministers over the coming weeks.' The statement added: 'ABF cannot continue to absorb losses at the plant. That is why a timely solution is vital. 'Our clear preference is to find that solution through this process and to get back to running a business that can thrive in the long term.' The firm said that 'in parallel' it has entered into a consultation process with staff, which it said was a necessary step as there is no guarantee that the negotiations with Government will be successful. It said: 'Our employees are our most important consideration, and we will engage with them properly and transparently about the future. The Vivergo Fuels site in Hull is the UK's largest producer of bioethanol (Vivergo Fuels/PA) 'Consultation is not a fixed outcome, and closure is not a certainty. 'The outcome depends on the progress we are able to make through negotiations with the Government.' Last month, Vivergo wrote to the wheat farmers who supply it, telling them it will have to close unless there is quick Government intervention. It said the removal of a 19% tariff on US ethanol imports, which formed part of the recent UK-US trade deal, was the 'final blow'. The bioethanol industry says the deal has made it impossible to compete with heavily subsidised American products. Vivergo said the Hull plant can produce up to 420 million litres of bioethanol from wheat sourced from thousands of UK farms. It described bioethanol production as 'a key national strategic asset' which helps reduce emissions from petrol and is expected to be a key component in sustainable aircraft fuel in the future. The firm said it has just signed a £1.25 billion memorandum of understanding with Meld Energy to anchor a 'world-class' Sustainable Aviation Fuel facility at the site. It said the 'potential ahead is enormous', adding that 'there is a real opportunity for Hull to be home to one of Britain's most exciting clean fuel clusters'. The plant is also the UK's largest single production site for animal feed and the company says it indirectly supports about 4,000 jobs in the Humber and Lincolnshire region. Following ABF's announcement of a potential shutdown by mid-September, a Government spokesperson said on Thursday: 'We recognise this is a concerning time for workers and their families and it is disappointing to see this announcement after we entered into negotiations with the company on financial support yesterday. 'We will continue to take proactive steps to address the long-standing challenges the company faces and remain committed to working closely with them throughout this period to present a plan for a way forward that protects supply chains, jobs and livelihoods.' The Government said the bioethanol industry has been facing significant challenges for some time and officials and ministers have met with Ensus and Vivergo consistently over the last few months to address the challenges. It said both the business and transport secretaries met representatives from the industry on June 10 and engagement with the companies 'will continue at pace' to assess potential solutions, with the help of external consultants.
The Guardian
25 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Review calls for £10m overhaul of the Office for National Statistics
The UK's main statistics body needs a £10m overhaul and its top role split in two after a series of management failings and errors that have plagued the organisation for several years, a scathing report has found. The Devereux Review on performance and culture of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found 'deep-seated' issues that called for radical measures and warned of the likelihood that past statistics would need to retrospectively revised. Sir Robert Devereux, a retired career civil servant, said the role of national statistician should be split in two, creating a new role of ONS permanent secretary to oversee a wide-ranging reorganisation, alongside the national statistician, who assumes responsibility for the accuracy of published data. 'This new permanent secretary position could be handed to someone with a track record of leading and turning around an operational business,' Devereux said. He added: 'I suggest temporary separation since, with more effort to develop evident talent within the government statistical service, I think it might well be possible to recombine the roles in due course, once the organisation's core business is back on a more stable footing.' The role of national statistician is vacant after Prof Sir Ian Diamond retired due to ill health during the review. Among the searing criticisms in the review, Devereux said there was 'a weak system of planning and budgeting' and a reluctance at senior levels to hear and act on difficult news. The review said there was a 'reluctance on the part of some to take at face value the warnings which have been raised, apparently preferring instead to categorise those making the warnings as lacking in accountability'. Officials at the Bank of England and the Treasury, MPs and City analysts have criticised the ONS's operations after its surveys were hit by falling participation rates among businesses and the public during the pandemic, leading to questions about the validity of its data. The ONS, which is based in Newport, south Wales, has sought to increase the rate of responses to its surveys, but with only limited success. In particular, its labour market data showing the level of employment in the UK economy have been heavily revised in recent years. The consumer prices index and the retail prices index were recently found to be incorrect after an error by a government agency supplying the ONS with data pushed the headline rate up by 0.1 percentage points to 3.5% in April. The ONS refused to amend the figure, arguing that investors who bought inflation-linked financial products would claim compensation. Acting national statistician Emma Rourke said the report marked 'a turning point for the ONS as we commit to implement the recommendations and reset towards a culture that embraces feedback and challenge'. The ONS has also published a £10m plan to improve the accuracy of its economic and population statistics. It said that improving the accuracy of ONS statistics will take collective effort. 'In some cases, this may mean revising published figures or historical series. That is not a sign of failure, but of a statistical system willing to evolve, led by evidence, and open about how it improves. 'We will work closely with users to ensure revisions and breaks in series are well managed, with support provided to users.' Devereux said senior managers had become focused on delivering new IT systems, diverting resources from existing system upgrades. 'There has been a commendable interest in both new approaches to statistics (including the use of administrative data) and ensuring the relevance of ONS activity to wider political debate. Unfortunately, this has had the (unintended) effect of de-prioritising the less exciting, but nonetheless crucial, task of delivering core economic statistics of sufficient quality to guide decision making,' he said. For instance, problems with trade data 'reflected known concerns' about flaws in the computer system used to compile the figures, but nothing was done about it until an error occurred. The producer price index, which measures the cost of raw materials and components used in industry, was flawed after staff stuck with old coding methods, reducing their ability to spot errors, said Devereux. In 2020, the ONS shifted publication of economic statistics from 9.30am to 7am. Concerns that this put added pressure on staff to verify and comment on data outside office hours sparked a review by the statistics regulator. The review found a move back to 9.30am would not be possible due in part to the weakness of the IT systems.
North Wales Chronicle
32 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Under-threat bioethanol plant says talks with Government a ‘positive signal'
Hull-based Vivergo Fuels said on Thursday that, given 'the strategic importance of a domestic ethanol supply', the Government has committed to formal negotiations to reach a 'sustainable solution'. But the firm, which is owned by Associated British Foods (ABF), said it is simultaneously beginning consultation with staff to wind down the plant, which employs more than 160 people, due to the uncertain situation – a process which could see production stop before September 13, if support is not provided. An ABF spokesperson said: 'We are extremely pleased to be entering the next phase of formal negotiations with Government over the future of Vivergo. 'We believe it is a very positive signal that Government recognises the strategic importance of a domestic bioethanol industry, and is serious about working with the sector to find a sustainable long-term future. 'We look forward to engaging intensively and constructively with ministers over the coming weeks.' The statement added: 'ABF cannot continue to absorb losses at the plant. That is why a timely solution is vital. 'Our clear preference is to find that solution through this process and to get back to running a business that can thrive in the long term.' The firm said that 'in parallel' it has entered into a consultation process with staff, which it said was a necessary step as there is no guarantee that the negotiations with Government will be successful. It said: 'Our employees are our most important consideration, and we will engage with them properly and transparently about the future. 'Consultation is not a fixed outcome, and closure is not a certainty. 'The outcome depends on the progress we are able to make through negotiations with the Government.' Last month, Vivergo wrote to the wheat farmers who supply it, telling them it will have to close unless there is quick Government intervention. It said the removal of a 19% tariff on US ethanol imports, which formed part of the recent UK-US trade deal, was the 'final blow'. The bioethanol industry says the deal has made it impossible to compete with heavily subsidised American products. Vivergo said the Hull plant can produce up to 420 million litres of bioethanol from wheat sourced from thousands of UK farms. It described bioethanol production as 'a key national strategic asset' which helps reduce emissions from petrol and is expected to be a key component in sustainable aircraft fuel in the future. The firm said it has just signed a £1.25 billion memorandum of understanding with Meld Energy to anchor a 'world-class' Sustainable Aviation Fuel facility at the site. It said the 'potential ahead is enormous', adding that 'there is a real opportunity for Hull to be home to one of Britain's most exciting clean fuel clusters'. The plant is also the UK's largest single production site for animal feed and the company says it indirectly supports about 4,000 jobs in the Humber and Lincolnshire region. Following ABF's announcement of a potential shutdown by mid-September, a Government spokesperson said on Thursday: 'We recognise this is a concerning time for workers and their families and it is disappointing to see this announcement after we entered into negotiations with the company on financial support yesterday. 'We will continue to take proactive steps to address the long-standing challenges the company faces and remain committed to working closely with them throughout this period to present a plan for a way forward that protects supply chains, jobs and livelihoods.' The Government said the bioethanol industry has been facing significant challenges for some time and officials and ministers have met with Ensus and Vivergo consistently over the last few months to address the challenges. It said both the business and transport secretaries met representatives from the industry on June 10 and engagement with the companies 'will continue at pace' to assess potential solutions, with the help of external consultants.
