A resident of Mouscron, Belgium, feared for his life after receiving an electricity bill worth more than a million euros. Luckily it was a simple mistake.
€1,279,611.43. This is the amount Engie asked a resident of Mouscron, Belgium, to pay his electricity bill. Stunned, the Belgian checked the letter and his counter several times before contacting customer service for an explanation. Ultimately, it was a supplier error.
“I couldn’t believe it, I thought it was a joke. I checked three times that it was a real letter from Engie. And then I had to read it three more times to understand that I wasn’t having hallucinations,” the Belgian told RTL.
But the young man’s ordeal was not over yet. In order to get an explanation, the Belgian, named Alexandre, called Engie’s customer service, where he was told he had one week to appeal before his bank account was debited. “After two days I saw that nothing was progressing. I was completely helpless. I haven’t slept for two days, I felt really bad,” he explained.
A computer error
Finally, a few days later, Engie contacted the victim to explain that the amount of his bill was due to a computer error and would not be charged. The error was caused by the fact that the photovoltaic panels of Alexandre’s house were not coded. The distribution grid operator therefore counted all the kilowatt hours that were negative on the meter as positive.
“I was reassured, but I can tell you I haven’t forgotten the stress I was under at the time. I distrust them now, imagine there are bugs every time. We tell ourselves that there can be mistakes of a few euros that go unnoticed,” he concluded.