‘Quite shocking’: why was a vulnerable customer sent a £8,400 energy bill?

Key points

• The energy bill from ScottishPower sent Richard Palmer into an immediate panic.
• It said he had to pay more than £8,400 straight away or risk his credit history being impaired for years.
• The 76-year-old felt he had no option so he paid the bill, using half of his savings to do so, even though it amounted to nine times what his annual payment would normally be.
• He was a victim of a massive miscalculation by the energy company that caused him an enormous amount of anxiety, according to his daughter, Anne.
• The Palmer case is “quite shocking”, according to Simon Francis of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, and stood out from others they had dealt with because of its size.