I have built up a £2,000 energy bill... how can I pay it?

Ms R.P. writes: Please help. I have been with Scottish Hydro Electric for four years and I have always paid by monthly direct debit. Recently I decided to change supplier, but I then received a bill from Scottish Hydro for £2,000. I feel physically sick with worry as I cannot possibly owe this. I live in a two-bedroom flat and work full time, so I only use electricity at night and at weekends.

I contacted Scottish Hydro and it said there had been a computer error. As a result it had not been collecting enough for the past six months. LIKE most utility customers these days, you have been paying a fixed monthly amount.

But this does not mean that what you pay is exactly what you owe. The real bill still depends on your meter reading and neither you nor SSE Group, which runs Scottish Hydro, had read your meter for about three years until you decided to make the switch.

SSE says you have not been home when a meter reader has called and over those three years you built up a debt of £2,107.

The company is only allowed to go back one year though, so it has now cut your bill to £968. It told me: ‘We understand that receiving a catch-up bill like this can come as a shock. As such, we have written off a significant portion of the debt and put in place a payment plan to help Ms P pay off the balance.’

I asked SSE about the computer error as well. The company accepts that due to a system error, it only collected £1 a month from your bank for six months, increasing the amount you owe. SSE is knocking £200 off your bill as a goodwill gesture to make up for this.