MOTHER OF THREE owes £3,000 after her electricity bill grew £1,000 in one MONTH.
Kelly Mitchell, 40, was forced to choose between staying warm or eating at her home in Basildon, Essex, where she lives with her children Henry, 16, Joey, seven, and Carson, six.
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Energy company Utilita did not respond to her frantic emails when she called to request a £1,656 bill in July.
The month before, her total for gas and electricity was just £210.67.
After being unable to pay the bill for months, Kelly’s total debt reached a whopping £3,108.73 in December 2021, leaving her ‘fear-filled’.
Utilita explained that the total is an accumulated fee due to Becky because her previous estimated bills were too low.
Kelly, whose three sons are disabled, told The Sun: “Now I’m really being drowned or eaten, I’m back in the dark ages.
“In August, I suddenly noticed that without warning my electricity bills had risen to £1,656 a month.
“My meter keeps going up and up, I don’t know what to do.”
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She added: “They just keep bombarding me with bills – now I owe £3,000 which I just can’t afford and they keep threatening me with further action.
“All I can think about is, if this is an accurate score, how the hell am I going to save enough for it? My income just won’t cover it.
“It fills me with dread.”
“For the first time in my life, I had to claim benefits. I’ve never had to do this before, but I had to quit my job to look after my boys myself.”
Now for me it’s really what I warm or eat, I’m back in the dark ages.
Kelly Mitchell
Henry has epilepsy and Joey has aggressive cholesteatoma. Carson suffers from learning difficulties.
A spokesperson for Utilita said: “I can confirm that the client provided us with an electricity meter reading when they moved into the property on November 18, 2020.
“Initially, we assessed electricity bills from 11/18/2020 to 6/30/2021. These estimates were lower than what was actually used.
“Without meter readings, suppliers can only work with estimates. As part of the licensing agreement, suppliers must provide at least one accurate invoice every 12 months – of course, this is much easier if a smart meter is installed.
“Having received the electricity meter readings from 07/21/2021, we issued an invoice for July 2021, which we call “catch-up”.
“The invoice has been prepared to bring the electricity bill up to date and in accordance with the indications provided.
“After reviewing the photographed invoice, I can confirm that both invoices have since been revised.
“The client now provides frequent meter readings, which allows us to guarantee accurate billing and avoid the use of estimates.
“Installing a smart meter at the customer’s will also help with that.”
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