Shop owners and energy experts have expressed concerns about electricity supplier SmartestEnergy’s inflated and unclear billing and lack of communication. 

Andy Mason, of Premier Convenience in Beeston, Nottingham, claimed he was wrongly charged for incorrect meter readings. “We joined SmartestEnergy in May, and within 24 hours my bill was inflated by 96,000 units,” he said. 

“SmartestEnergy were demanding £2,000 for one week, then confirmed they’d billed us based on our closing readings with our old supplier, not the opening readings.” 

Mason’s electricity billing was put on hold as he was told it was under investigation, which led to the bill “getting out of control”. 

“SmartestEnergy said we’d need a new-generation meter to fix the problems, which would only be supplied if we paid the outstanding debt, which we did – it was about £7,000. 

“To date, no date has been set for installation. It was just a ploy to get the debt paid.” 

Paul Sissons, director at Sissons Energy Consulting, claimed some electricity suppliers, including SmartestEnergy, work with “devious” brokers to “pressure-sell”, with brokers also manipulating contracts to “sign on clients’ behalves”. 

EXCLUSIVE: New rights for local shops in energy supplier disputes

Veer Patel, of Spar Nash’s Jaywick in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, claimed to have had a similar experience with SmartestEnergy. He told Better Retailing: “There was no communication in the first month. Three months, later I got an invoice for £250. 

“I know my energy is about £4,000 per month, so this was too cheap. 

“They were billing the wrong address, and weeks later they refuted this. Four months later, they charged me £14,000. I can’t pay that in one go.” 

Patel said they agreed a payment plan of £1,000 a month, but £14,000 was taken from his account in a lump sum. He added: “I was told to ring the bank and tell them it’s fraud, which I refused to do. 

“It’s been a nightmare. I’ve been sending them emails and haven’t received one response. I can’t buy as much stock anymore.” 

Ian Dawson, who sells of EPoS systems and card machines to convenience stores, claimed he was sent a bill for £16,000, closely followed by another of £5,000. He said: “I cancelled the direct debit, but now apparently I owe them £2,000, which I don’t agree with, because I’ve paid a hell of a lot of money to them. I get passed from pillar to post on the phone.” 

The complaints come as small businesses were given new rights to contest their bills and raise claims against providers. 

They can now raise their issues with the Energy Ombudsman, which previously only covered micro-businesses and consumers. 

Sissson said: “I’d be more than happy to provide a free assessment and an expert report for any Better Retailing readers to help with issues like this.” 

SmartestEnergy failed to respond when approached for comment by Better Retailing. 

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