Pensioner told to pay £24k energy bill for ‘empty' second home
A pensioner has been hit with a 'crazy' £24,000 energy bill on her holiday home despite it being empty for most of the year.
Lin Lawler, 70, who owns Grange Farmhouse in Hainford, Norfolk, claimed her monthly electricity bill shot up from less than £200 a month to more than £2,000 due to a faulty smart meter.
Her energy supplier, Smartest Energy, is now chasing her for £24,010 and has ordered her to repay £2,000 a week.
This is despite the homeowner claiming her five-bedroom 50-acre property with adjoining annex is only used for around 100 days a year when let out as a holiday rental.
Ms Lawler said the property's energy use was typically modest, with an average electricity bill of around £200 a month and said the debt had pushed her to the brink of financial ruin.
She said: 'I just can't afford it. They've got their hands around my throat and their hands in my pocket.'
Ms Lawler said she was stunned when she started receiving monthly bills totalling thousands of pounds. In February, the company charged her £3,217 for a month's worth of electricity.
The pensioner said she complained numerous times to Smartest Energy's customer service team, and alleged a call handler 'slipped up' by admitting the company was unable to communicate with their smart meter.
Ms Lawler said: '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.'
She added: 'I just can't afford it. They've got their hands around my throat and their hands in my pocket.'
Ms Lawler claimed that when she replaced her meter in March, her bills immediately dropped. Her bill for May was £183, compared to £1,675 the year before.
She contacted the Energy Ombudsman. However, the adjudicator ultimately ruled in Smartest Energy's favour due to a lack of evidence that the meter was over-recording.
Successive governments have pushed for all households to have a smart meter fitted – the Tories had hoped that all homes would have one by 2020. The target has since been downgraded to 74.5pc by the end of the year.
The rollout has stalled amid reports that the technology is prone to faults, and that some are unable to send readings back to suppliers remotely, leading to customers being sent sky-high bills that do not reflect their usage.
The National Audit Office said in 2023 that 37pc of smart meter customers surveyed by Smart Energy GB, the company tasked with rolling out the devices nationally, reported having issues with their smart meter, including no automatic readings, inaccurate bills, and the connected handheld device not showing any information.
Smartest Energy is still demanding £24,000 from Ms Lawler. Broadland and Fakenham MP Jerome Mayhew said Ms Lawler's situation was 'a crazy case' and pledged to support her.
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 the Energy Ombudsman said: 'The 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.'
A Smartest Energy spokesman said: 'We continue to speak directly with Ms Lawler and the Energy Ombudsman to reach a resolution with the present case.
They added: 'While the Energy Ombudsman originally concluded that there was not sufficient evidence of over-recording with Ms Lawler's energy meter, we recognise that a new case has been raised. We will continue to work with all necessary parties to resolve the issue and will be guided by the Energy Ombudsman's decision.'
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