A significant number of energy customers were pleasantly surprised to find a 99.9% discount on their energy bills. However, this was not a deliberate promotional offer but rather a glitch at the supplier Octopus. Due to a data feed error from a third party, thousands of customers with old imperial gas meters were billed just 0.01% of the actual amount they had consumed over the past few months. The provider has assured the affected customers that they will not be required to repay the undercharged amounts.
In response to the situation, Octopus has reached out to all customers who received the discounted bills and apologized for the error. Some customers had already noticed the unusually low payments and were enjoying the unexpected discounts. Octopus is offering additional support to any affected customers as needed.
Octopus has requested that customers who have not received an email refrain from contacting them to inquire about a potential discount. The company’s phone lines have been flooded with calls, and they want to prioritize resources for assisting vulnerable customers who require help with bill payments.
The billing error was a welcome relief for many households across Britain who have been struggling to afford heating this winter. However, for some customers, this relief may be short-lived. Starting on April 1st, these customers will face a triple financial blow, with the need to pay for energy at the full cost, the end of the Energy Bill Support Scheme, and an increase of £500 in the average energy bill imposed by the government. Simon Francis of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition expressed concern that this combination of factors could have disastrous consequences for many customers and called on Octopus to proactively identify vulnerable customers and offer them additional support during this period of significant change.
It should be noted that the government has implemented an Energy Price Guarantee, capping annual energy bills at £2,500. However, this cap is set to increase to £3,000 in April. Fortunately, the analyst Investec predicts that natural gas prices will continue to decrease throughout the year, resulting in a decrease of the cap to £2,165 from July.
In the meantime, Octopus is making efforts to assist customers with their winter bills by offering grants from their £15 million Octo Assist fund, as well as free electric blankets and other forms of support.
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