As mailing cock-ups go they don’t get much bigger than energy firm Northern Powergrid, which has been forced to apologise after 74 customers hit by power cuts during Storm Arwen accidentally received compensation cheques for trillions of pounds.
Pictures of the huge payout cheques have been circulating on social media, with one customer – Gareth Hughes from Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire – sharing a pic of his cheque for more than £2.3 trillion.
Mr Hughes, who was without power for more than three days, said he had been sent a previous cheque for £135 but had complained as he was told he was entitled to more. He said the new cheque made him smile, adding: “But I knew it wasn’t a value that could be realistic.”
A Northern Powergrid spokeswoman blamed a “clerical error”, claiming that an electricity meter reference was incorrectly quoted as the payment sum.
She added: “As soon as we identified the clerical error we ensured all 74 customers’ cheques were stopped so they could not be cashed.
“We thank those customers who were honest and contacted us and we have been making contact directly over the weekend with all 74 customers affected to make them aware, apologise for the error and reassure them that a correct payment will be issued to them on Monday.”
Storm Arwen hit area of Northumberland and County Durham in late November, with more than 110,000 properties bit by power cuts and more than a million people affected across the whole UK.
Northern Powergrid took more than seven days to get some properties back on the grid, Some properties took more than a week to be reconnected, bringing condemnation from Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng. He said: “It’s wrong and bad for people to be off power for such a long time. In this day and age, 4,000 people should not be without power for so long.”
The company was also heavily criticised for delays in payouts.
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