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Sir Grayson Perry, a well-known artist and broadcaster, expressed feeling disturbed by the amount of his electricity bill from EDF energy company and shared that the company withdrew £2,500 from his bank account.
The 63-year-old proposed that the absence of phone signal in his studio could have influenced the smart meter readings, which resulted in the bill.
On Monday, Sir Grayson posted on social media that his monthly electric bill from EDF had increased drastically from £300 to £39,000. He also shared that the company attempted to withdraw this amount directly from his account.
Jon Sopel, a previous employee of BBC, stated that he received a notification informing him that his monthly bill would be rising from £152 to £18,000.
During an interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Sir Grayson shared that he unexpectedly received a large batch of 15 bills totaling £39,000. He also mentioned that the money was set to be deducted via direct debit on the same day, which was yesterday.
I found it very unusual and on Friday, I spent at least three hours trying to get help from a call center. However, it felt like I was talking to a computer.
According to Sir Grayson, the bills ranged from a few hundred pounds to £6,000 and he referred to the incident as an “intriguing tale of the modern era.”
He stated that the energy company EDF had installed a smart meter a couple of years ago. He also mentioned that he informed the installer about the lack of phone signal in his country studio.
“They did not keep track of my usage, so when the bill arrived, it was only an estimated amount generated by a computer.”
Mr. Grayson disclosed that EDF had withdrawn approximately £2,500 from his bank account on Monday.
According to a statement from EDF, there is no need for concern among its customers as there have been no modifications to the way direct debit charges are handled.
The company attributed the unusual fluctuations in charges to a potentially incorrect meter reading and stated that these increases were confirmed through manual review.
When questioned about his electricity usage, Sir Grayson stated that he rarely used his country studio and the bills were significantly higher than those for his main studio, which he uses frequently.
When discussing his post on social media, he expressed disapproval of celebrities using their influence on Twitter. However, he also observed that many other individuals were facing a similar issue online, prompting him to question why people are made to feel vulnerable in these situations.
He stated: “I have a considerable amount of money, but it completely shocked me. It was the injustice and bizarre nature of the situation.”
The independent.co.uk website is the source.
