麻豆社

Electricity is a key part of our modern lives, and one of our most expensive utility costs. That鈥檚 why Anne and Gerry Pryce from Welshpool switched suppliers two years ago. But their bills seemed to have sky-rocketed instead of getting cheaper.

A year into the Pryce鈥檚 contract with First Utility their payments suddenly went up from 拢92 a month to 拢162 a month 鈥� with no advance warning.

Anne said: 鈥淲e put some fuel in the car and I went to pay and my card was declined. We found out that First Utility had upped the direct debit and not told us.鈥�

She called the company and was told their previous direct debit amount was not enough to cover their bills. Anne managed to negotiate her monthly payment down to 拢120, but in September they got another bolt out of the blue.

鈥淭hey put our direct debit up鈥�to 拢254.鈥� Anne told X-ray. 鈥淭hey left me with 2 pounds 53 pence in the account.鈥�

According to their meter, their July bill showed they were using 7 times as much energy as they did in the same period last year, but Anne and Gerry were convinced they were not using any more electricity than usual.

Anne contacted First Utility and explained she was worried their meter was not accurate. But she was told she would have to pay 拢160 upfront to get it checked, which was only refundable if they found a fault. But it was money the couple could not afford.

Now the couple are so worried about their rising bills, they鈥檙e having to penny pinch with their electricity and it鈥檚 taking its toll on Anne's health.

Anne said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 got to the point where we haven't got the heating on. If I get cold cos I'm full of arthritis, I'm in a lot of pain so basically I have to stay in bed.鈥�

So, could the meter be at fault? We brought in electricity consultant Dr Robert Brown to see what he made of Anne and Gerry's bills.

鈥淭he bills look excessively high鈥� Dr Brown told X-ray. When he their actual electricity consumption he found it to as average for their three-bedroomed property, rather than as high as their bills suggest.

He explained: 鈥淭hat indicates on the balance of probabilities that this particular electricity meter is reading high.鈥�

Further tests over several days reinforced Dr Brown's view that the Pryce's meter could be inaccurate. Now Anne and Gerry just want an end to this stressful battle with their energy supplier:

Anne said, 鈥淚'm thinking where are we going to find this money from. Will it ever end? It's just beating our heads against the wall really.鈥�

First Utility told X-ray that not notifying Ann and Gerry of the increases to their Direct Debit payments was an "error" and they apologise for 鈥渢he distress this must have caused鈥�.听

The company have promised to check the Pryce鈥檚 meter at no cost, and reduce their monthly payments while they investigate their apparent increase in usage.

Most of us have received a dreaded parking or driving fine in the post at some point. They鈥檙e the scourge of many motorists, but most of us accept there鈥檚 a price to pay if you break the rules.

But last year Pontllanfraith couple Alyn Owen and Daisy Harris started getting fines for offences they hadn鈥檛 committed, in places they had never visited.

It started in August 2016, when Alyn received a 拢130 for driving in a bus lane in east London 鈥� somewhere he鈥檇 never been in his Ford Focus.

This marked the start of a barrage of fixed penalty notices, all for offences in London. Before long Alun had amassed around 20 fixed penalty notices - demanding a total payment of more than 拢1000. Some were for overstaying in car parks, others for entering pedestrian zones.

But all the fines had one thing in common 鈥� neither Alyn or Daisy had been anywhere near the scene of the offences.

All the fines came with photographic evidence of the offences - committed by a silver Ford Focus, like theirs, and with the exact same numberplate. Alyn and Daisy thought were seeing double, until they spotted one crucial difference.

The car pictured on the fines had four doors, but Alyn and Daisy鈥檚 had just three doors. Some digging revealed someone had made a copy of their numberplate - stuck it on a lookalike car - and was using it to break the rules, without facing the consequences.

The couple were shocked by what had happened. Alyn said: 鈥淚 couldn't believe someone had the audacity to copy someone's plate and then obviously run the car around in London where it's heavily CCTV鈥檇. And it's just crazy to think, why's this happening to me.鈥�

The problem dragged on for a year and then debt collectors got involved. Bailiffs would call Alyn on a regular basis, every few hours in work.

But X-Ray has discovered that this is a problem on the rise. Under Freedom of Information we asked Welsh police forces how many camera-detected offences are cancelled because a cloned plate was used.

Only two forces got back to us, but their figures show the number of cases has almost trebled in the last two years.

We got in touch with the councils who鈥檇 issued the fines to Alyn and Daisy, and they have all now agreed to cancel them. But according to our experts, if you find your registration plate has been cloned, you should contact whoever issued you the fines with all supporting evidence that it was not you.

You should also inform the police, and contact the DVLA to make sure you get your own number plate changed as quickly as possible.

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