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Peter Holden, a resident of Hartlebury, Worcestershire, has been hounded for almost four years by energy firm Octopus for an outstanding gas bill of over £6,000 that does not belong to him. Despite Mr. Holden’s repeated attempts to rectify the error, he has continued to receive monthly energy bills and has faced harassment from debt collectors since August of 2021. This relentless pursuit persisted even after Octopus staff acknowledged that Mr. Holden was being charged for a meter with the same serial number due to a mistake in industry data.
Expressing his frustration, Mr. Holden stated, “It’s been very frustrating that I’ve not been able to get them to stop sending these bills.” He also highlighted the stress caused by the company involving debt collection agencies in an attempt to collect a debt that he does not owe. Over the course of 2021, the erroneous account’s balance skyrocketed from approximately £1,500 to over £6,000, culminating in debt collectors visiting Mr. Holden’s residence for the first time in February.
As an Octopus customer himself, Mr. Holden lamented that the company seemed to devote more resources to pursuing him for the erroneous bill than in locating the missing gas meter. Despite assurances that he was not liable for the debt and would not receive further communication, Mr. Holden continued to receive bills at his residence following an email apology from an Octopus staff member in September. He has raised complaints with the Information Commissioner’s Office after receiving bills addressed to him personally, indicating a potential information management issue at Octopus.
Having personally apologized to Mr. Holden, Octopus Energy’s commercial director promised to provide additional training for staff to prevent similar mistakes in the future. Mr. Holden also wrote to Octopus’ chief executive, Greg Jackson, in September to express his dissatisfaction with the company’s handling of the situation. Octopus acknowledged the error and attributed it to a complex situation where another account shared technical details with Mr. Holden’s meter. Despite this, the firm assured that Mr. Holden’s personal information was not compromised, and his credit score remained unaffected
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