Company wins case over £50,000 underpayment for electricity

An electricity supplier which undercharged a company over several years has been told it cannot now recover the £50,000 outstanding on the account.

A court has also ordered that it must pay the company compensation for wrongfully disconnecting its power supply.

The case involved EON energy and a company that operated an antiques market.

The company paid its bills in full over several years. It then emerged that the meter readings had been false and the company had been undercharged by at least £50,000.

The supplier presented a new bill based on more accurate meter readings but the company denied liability. Engineers from the supplier then entered the company’s premises and disconnected the supply.

The court held that the company had acted in good faith at all times. It had accepted the bills presented to it and paid them. The sums paid were far less than they should have been but that wasn’t the company’s fault.

The supplier could not now recover money owing because the company would not be able to pass the cost on to its stall holders in the antiques market in the way that it would have done if original invoices had been accurate.

While the company would benefit slightly by not having to pay the full amount for its electricity, the real beneficiaries were the stall holders.

The court also held that the supplier had not been entitled to enter the company’s premises and disconnect the electricity. It should therefore pay compensation for trespass, the hire of the generator and for management time spent dealing with the issue.

Please contact Neil O’Callaghan if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any other matters relating to litigation.