Gas scam: Reports of 10,000% gas bill increase
It’s natural for your gas bill to fluctuate, but imagine the shock for one Sydney building owner when his bills exploded from $97 to $10,377 in the space of just one year. Michael Heaney, who has described the increase as “the biggest scam in New South Wales,” noticed the unusual billing change at his Sydney building Maestri Towers in February this year.
According to Heaney, the “catastrophic mess” arose out of a combination of incorrectly estimated meter readings and a “total lack of communication” between gas retailer AGL, the infrastructure company which owns the pipelines, Jemena, and the customers themselves.
As a result of the chaos, AGL has launched legal action against Jemena in the Supreme Court, calling the company out for failing to provide accurate and timely meter readings for customers all over NSW for the past two years.
“As a retailer for these customers AGL knows this is frustrating for our customers,” AGL told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We’re doing this to hold Jemena accountable and encourage Jemena to improve its service.”
A Jemena spokesperson confirmed the court action, claiming that resolving meter and billing issues has been their “absolute top priority,” for some time. “We are very aware that some of our customers have recently experienced difficulty and frustration [...] and we are committed to helping resolve these complex issues effectively and as soon as possible.”
A Supreme Court hearing will take place next Friday.