A couple saw their electricity bill increase by £5 after boiling the kettle. (Image: Getty)
Ford and Ann Jones were left perplexed after their newly installed smart meter showed a hike of £5 after simply boiling the kettle.
The couple were left in such shock that they decided to test other appliances to see if their eyes were deceiving them. However, their state of panic worsened when trying the washing machine, which charged them £15 to clean their clothes.
Boiling the kettle would typically cost 1p, so the couple rang their utility company Octopus Energy to try and find out the reason behind the £4.99 increase following the installation of a smart meter.
Initially, the Jones claimed the energy supplier had ignored their questioning, resulting in them contacting an independent engineer. Upon arrival, he spotted a ‘CT clamp’ which had been connected the wrong way round- this caused the meter readings to rocket.
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Octopus have compensated the couple and admitted fault. (Image: Getty)
After the smart meter was installed last February, the couple, who are in their 70s, claimed they made numerous phone calls to which they were given the advice of “ignore the meter” and that the “meter might take a few weeks to settle down”.
After being charged £3,000 over a three-month period, the pair decided to take matters into their own hands.
Ford told : “Octopus told us not to worry – but that did not stop them still sending much higher bills.
“Only after I logged on to Octopus’s website and showed proof our energy usage had shot up once the meter was installed did they finally pay attention.
“But it was not until August that we managed to get an engineer out to fix the problem.
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Experts believe the issue of re-wiring when installing is far from unusual. (Image: Getty)
“I insisted on Octopus fixing the CT clamp because if I got another engineer out to do the work, the energy supplier could have said it was not their fault.”
Experts believe this incident is far from isolated. One electrician said he was called out a dozen times last year due to smart meter installers rewiring connections the wrong way round.
The couple were paid compensation by Octopus who have since admitted fault. The supplier said: “We fit thousands of these clamps a year, and it’s a very rare error, which meant some of our team didn’t pick it up as quickly as we’d like.”