£2,000 energy bill refund eases bereavement pressures – The Crusader

Sorting out the muddle and ending the need for Diane Best to fill in more forms, will ease the pressure on her too as she copes with life as a widow.

Yet another casualty of supplier Bulb’s chaotic management prior to its collapse in November 2021, followed by Octopus Energy’s takeover, Diane was still struggling with the fallout and trying to set her account straight when she came to Crusader a couple of weeks ago.

Like many others doing their best to read their meters and file usage numbers, Diane had slipped up in the past. As an Economy 7 customer, she had filed the same readings for day and night rates, which had put her seriously out of sync with her direct debits.

READ MORE: Mortgage misery forces widow to sell home and continue working into retirement

On realising her error in June last year, she sent in correct readings and meter photos.

“But Bulb continued to make estimates,” Diane told Crusader.

“Then from October until January, before it moved to Octopus Energy, they reduced my direct debit to £1 a month because of the credit they said I had.

“But this was immediately followed by a statement from Octopus showing that I was in £2,000 of debt.

“I explained to them that Bulb had not increased my debit despite me sending in correct readings. It was all so confusing and unfair.

“The next I knew was last month when I saw I had been debited for the £2,076.

“I was then asked to complete another form for an affordability specialist. The worry has been really terrible.”

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We sent the saga to Octopus, and also pointed out Diane’s struggles and honest attempts to rectify matters before they got out of hand.

In a fantastic and fair outcome, Octopus has now agreed to return the payment so the debt is cleared.

In a way Octopus was unaware of when it made the decision, that has had even more impact because of Diane’s particular circumstances.

“This is such a weight off my shoulders as I budget for a life living alone, thank you all,” was her heartfelt response.

● Diane’s name has been changed

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