SSE to reimburse whopping £18K electricity bill E and JG Seward bakery

The family bakers was shocked to receive the huge SSE bill after installing a smart meter. 

John Seward, of E and JG Seward, Burneside, rang SSE to ask if the bill was correct and if the meter could be checked.

Mr Seward admitted that he was not good with technology and did not understand how the smart meter was calculating the charge.

Customer service was adamant that the huge sum of money was owed. 

The bakery had previously had its bills calculated via estimates. John was confused to see that the first bill after installing the smart meter had outstanding debts, considering he had always kept up with payments.

Mr Seward asked how many other instances are there of this happening (Image: Newsquest)

This was explained to him as an accumulation fee, as the reading from the smart meter indicated that the bakery had been underpaying for the last few years. 

Concerned that the bakery would be cut off, especially as it contributes to the local Meals on Wheels service, the Sewards dipped into their personal savings to pay the bill via two cheques.

A customer heard about this and called The Mail who rang the Steels Row bakery, and then SSE which realised it was an administrative error.  

READ MORE: Flood hit Burneside bakery reopens its doors to serve the community

SSE confirmed that the Sewards will be refunded at least £14,500 of the nearly £19,000 they paid.

The Sewards may receive more money depending on how the previous estimates are recalculated.

Mr Seward said this could be up to £15,500. SSE has confirmed that this will be refunded through a cheque or BACS. 

Mr Seward said: "When we first told they said there was no chance it would be a mistake.

The Steels Row business is a family-run bakery (Image: Google Maps)

"I said to them to come and help me. Is there any chance that it could be wrong? And they told me no.

"How many others could be paying the bank? He (a man from customer service) phoned me yesterday because the debt we are talking about goes back as far as 2019 because we had different contract prices.

"They have got to sort it out fast. It was a great relief as we used money that we didn't have to sort it out. We can put it back in the right place.

"It is an absolute shock. Where do they pull these figures from? At least we are going to get it back."

A spokesperson from SSE said: "We have apologised to the customer directly for errors made with the billing of this account and have agreed with the customer to provide a refund, which covers the amount that was incorrectly billed originally.

"We’re sorry that the customer has had to endure this uncertainty over their bill."