Complaint for Electricity Overbilling
An electricity bill double its usual size with no change in your usage needs a formal challenge. This letter disputes the reading, submits your own meter evidence, and demands the bill be revised on actual consumption.
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When and how to use this letter
The day you receive a suspicious bill, photograph your meter with the reading and the date clearly visible. This single photo is the most powerful evidence in an overbilling dispute, because it lets you calculate your actual consumption independently of whatever the bill claims. Take a second photo a week later; the difference between the two readings shows your real weekly usage.
Check whether the bill is based on an actual reading or an estimate. Bills marked as estimated, average, or provisional are frequently inflated, and utilities are obliged to correct them once you provide the actual reading. Also compare the billed units with the same month last year; a sudden doubling with no new appliances or change in household size points to a reading or meter error.
Send this letter to the utility's complaint cell with your consumer number, quoting both the billed reading and your photographed reading. Request a meter accuracy test if the numbers do not reconcile, and ask for the bill to be revised on actual consumption.
The detail that protects you: pay your normal average amount while the dispute is pending, and state in writing that the payment is made under protest for the disputed bill. This keeps your connection safe from disconnection action while preserving your right to the correction. If the utility ignores you, the electricity ombudsman handles exactly these cases.
Frequently asked questions
Can I ask for my meter to be tested?
How do I prove the bill is wrong?
Should I pay the inflated bill meanwhile?
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