Man hit with £29k Shell Energy bill after supplier error

Mr Collins said problems began in 2021 when his old supplier went bust

A man has been hit with a £29,000 energy bill following a mistake by his supplier.

Patrick Collins, from Henley, Oxfordshire, said attempts to resolve the problem with Shell Energy had so far failed.

The bill was his first from the firm after his previous supplier, Green Energy, went bust in 2021.

After being contacted by the BBC, Shell Energy said it accepted Mr Collins did not owe £29,000.

It added it was working to rectify the problem.

Mr Collins, who lives with his partner, two dogs and a cat, said problems started in December 2021 when the regulator moved his account from Green Energy to Shell.

'Wrong meter'

He said: "It took over a year to get a new account set up with them. They were sending me letters telling me I didn't need to do anything.

"In September 2022 they set the account up but then we found out it had the wrong gas meter number on the bill."

Mr Collins said he had emailed the company 65 times - sending photos of his meter, and telephoned the call centre repeatedly.

"They sent a man round to look at the meter because they didn't believe it wasn't my meter and we are still waiting," he said.

Mr Collins's latest bill is £29,681 with £9,296 of gas used in just seven weeks.

He said it had caused him a lot of stress, especially as he was given a deadline of 31 January to pay.

"With the call centre regime we have, you just don't seem to be able to escalate anything any more," he added.

A Shell Energy spokesperson said: "We're aware of a billing error with Mr Collins' account and we are working to resolve it.

"Mr Collins does not owe £29,000 and we will be providing him with a new bill once the matter is resolved."