84-year-old tries to commit suicide after £6k energy bill
- added July 4, 2008
- 2 responses
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- JanaPokana
- added this
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Walter Bargate, 84, tried to take his life after receiving an energy bill according to which he owed £6,500. Not able to pay the amount, Bargate, a war-veteran who was living alone and was physically impaired, was left without power and swallowed 100 pills. In his farewell note to his children, he said energy provider E.On was the "catalyst" for his decision to die.
Ironically, the energy bill was inaccurate as E.On had wrongly wired a meter and had charged Bargate four times the amount he should have been paying. Bargate had tried to call E.On to inquire why his power had been switched off, but he was left hanging for more than three hours and finally gave up. Fortunately, Bargate was discovered shortly after his suicide attempt and has been able to recover.
When his daughter contacted E.On to get more information, it emerged that Bargate had been unable to pay his inflated bills of up to £1,800 a quarter since 2003 and had hidden the increasing debt from his family.
Watchdog Energywatch has criticised E.On for a "catalogue of crass errors" that can have drastic effects especially on vulnerable customers that need to be protected at a time when energy costs are rising.
Ironically, the energy bill was inaccurate as E.On had wrongly wired a meter and had charged Bargate four times the amount he should have been paying. Bargate had tried to call E.On to inquire why his power had been switched off, but he was left hanging for more than three hours and finally gave up. Fortunately, Bargate was discovered shortly after his suicide attempt and has been able to recover.
When his daughter contacted E.On to get more information, it emerged that Bargate had been unable to pay his inflated bills of up to £1,800 a quarter since 2003 and had hidden the increasing debt from his family.
Watchdog Energywatch has criticised E.On for a "catalogue of crass errors" that can have drastic effects especially on vulnerable customers that need to be protected at a time when energy costs are rising.
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- JanaPokana
- 3 months ago
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It's incredible that E.On didn't seem to have tried to help Mr Bargate with his debts in any way before they cut off his power, and on top of that the ridiculous over-charging mistake (which energy companies in the UK seem pretty good at doing..). Terrible.
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Wow, this is outrageous. It is bad enough that they installed a broken meter, but then they don't even give him the opportunity to ask questions or complain. He must have been so desperate! I think E.On and other companies like them should create a special help line for elderly people who might need special assistance. Thank god he was saved!
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