IAIN SMITH, 35, WAS CONTACTED BY OVO ENERGY TELLING HIM HE NEEDED TO FOOT THE STAGGERING £7,654.77 BILL FOR ELECTRIC LAST OCTOBER - BUT HE SAYS IT'S A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY 14:31,

03 Jun 2025Updated 14:34, 03 Jun 2025 OVO has issued an apology to a Midland man after he got a bill for more than £8,500 because of his surname. Iain Smith, 35, was stunned when OVO Energy

hit him with the eye-watering £7654.77 electricity bill last October. However, Iain contends that during the time the bill spans, he was bunking with mates and has never resided at the

address in question. READ MORE: SHOP CLOSING ON BIRMINGHAM HIGH STREET He spotted on the credit report an 'Ian Smith' - a different spelling from his own Iain and linked to a bank

ruled in his favour, stating he wasn't on the hook for the costs, and despite OVO's challenge, the verdict stood, ordering the energy firm to cancel the charge. Yet, Iain claims

the bill is still mounting up. The security officer from Leicester shared: "It has been very distressing - to get an email saying I owed nearly £8,000 was a bit of a shock.

"It's affected my work - I need to have a clear head for my job. "To have this all on top of it, they're treating me like scum, really. "To me, they are thieves,

trying to steal money from me. "I have no connection to this address whatsoever - I didn't have my own property until January this year." Iain encountered difficulties in

providing proof of his non-residence at the address in question due to being homeless at the time. He recounted: "They were adamant I had to pay it - at the time they were sending these

emails, I was homeless. "I contacted them and told them I couldn't provide evidence of where I lived as I was on the streets. "It was clear to the Energy Ombudsman that

something had gone wrong and that I wasn't at that property. "I have never had a Barclay's credit account, and that's what they had linked on the credit report. "It

was a different Mr Smith, different age, and completely different address. "You could see the name on the credit report - I'm Iain, and he's Ian, but he has different

spellings and middle names." Following the Ombudsman's decision in Iain's favour, they ordered OVO to remove the disputed charge. However, Iain asserts that OVO has failed to

comply with this directive. He stated: "OVO appealed and lost. "The decision was then upheld and became legally binding. "They were told to remove my name from the account,

pay me £200 compensation, send a letter of apology, and remove any markers on my account. "They were given 28 days to do that WHEN and they haven't. "I'm shocked that

they are treating the public like this. "Throughout the investigation, they would not stop contacting me for the money, and the debt rose. "It's now gone silent - the account

is still in my name; they haven't removed it." Iain expressed his astonishment at OVO's handling of the situation, particularly their failure to adhere to the Ombudsman's

ruling and their persistent pursuit of payment despite the account being in error. Iain has escalated his case to the Ombudsman and is pushing for it to be taken up by Ofgem, convinced that

tougher checks are critical in preventing such occurrences. He asserted: "There's a massive issue here. Article continues below "When you set up an electric account, you

don't have to prove who you are. "No ID required. "It's an oversight - it opens the floodgates for fraud."