A HOMEOWNER "nearly had a heart attack" after he was charged almost £2,000 for one day's energy use.

John Fernandez usually pays about £9 every 24 hours but his bill shot up more than 200 times on November 20 last year.

His OVO Energy statement registered he had apparently used 5,433.9kWh – enough for a house 206 times the size of his maisonette. 

The average UK household uses between 8.5 and 10, and John usually clocks about 20.

The IT worker only noticed the spike when checking his account at the end of December.

John, in his early 40s, said: "I normally check my portal every two weeks but I was late doing it because of Christmas.

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"When I did look and saw I'd supposedly spent £1,858.85, I nearly had a heart attack.

"I thought, 'how is that possible?'"

John, from Surrey, immediately contacted his provider and was told an engineer would be sent out and someone would contact him about a refund.

But two weeks and more than 10 phone calls later, he was still waiting.

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"They blamed the problem on a meter firmware upgrade but I don't believe that," he said.

"If that was the case, surely it would have impacted other readings.

"I haven't heard anything since."

John, who is on a Simpler Economy 7 plan which gives him cheaper energy during the night, is now fearful his readings may have been wrong since switching to OVO six years ago.

He said: "How many errors do I have on my account and how many might be on other people's? It's really scary.

"It's taking a lot of grief for me to get any kind of answer.

"I've called customer support about 10 times and they always pass me to a different department.

"My stress levels are through the roof."

John said he is willing to go back through every statement for the last 2,190 days to check for any abnormalities he might have missed.

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After being contacted by The Sun, OVO corrected the mistake and offered to credit his account a further £100 as a gesture of goodwill.

A spokesperson blamed the problem on upgrading from a first to second generation smart meter and apologised for the shock caused.

What to do if you think your meter is faulty or your bill is wrong

IF your smart meter is not working properly, your supplier should investigate and replace the it if required.

In the meantime, you should continue to monitor readings in the usual way to track your usage.

Suppliers should try to get a proper meter reading at least once a year.

Smart meters can show the wrong energy usage on the display, but still record the correct amount of energy you use with the supplier.

But it can be frustrating to see the incorrect cost if you use the meter to monitor your energy use.

It can also be hard to know if you are being billed incorrectly or if it is simply a price rise.

Energy bills have rocketed by hundreds of pounds for millions of Brits as the price cap went up 54% on April 1.

That includes a standing charge, which is a daily amount that you pay for gas and electric regardless of your usage.

If your bill jumps suddenly, it is worth checking with your supplier. Take a look at your consumption and work out if that has gone up.

Avoid estimated bills at all costs. Give your provider a meter reading every month and take a photo as evidence.

If you are not happy with what your energy firm says, or it does not sort your problem, you can report the firm to the Energy Ombudsman.

You must have complained to your supplier and given the firm eight weeks to resolve the problem.

The ombudsman will then take a look at your case and decide whether you are entitled to compensation.

You must take your case to the ombudsman within 12 months of your supplier telling you of its decision.

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