Sorry Northern Powergrid, we’d cash it
A man has recieved a compensation cheque for more than £2tn after an “oversight” from Northern Powergrid late last week.
Gareth Hughes from Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, took to Twitter after receiving a cheque totalling £2,324,252,080,110. Hughes was sent the check after numerous days without power during Storm Arwen in November last year.
The very lucky man tagged the energy suppliers, writing: “Before I bank the cheque however, are you 100% certain you can afford this?”
Thank you for our compensation payment @Northpowergrid for the several days we were without power following #stormarwen Before I bank the cheque however, are you 100% certain you can afford this? #trillionpounds pic.twitter.com/z5MNc2Nxl1
— Gareth Hughes (@gh230277) February 12, 2022
Naturally, Northern Powergrid replied to the tweet and asked for his contact details so they could “correct this oversight.”
In a separate tweet, Hughes added that at least four of his neighbours had also received cheques for similar amounts. The post has since received upwards of 55k likes, with most of the comments stating they would have banked it.
Hi Gareth, Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Please DM us your contact details including address and postcode so we can correct this oversight. thanks, Phil.
— Northern Powergrid (@Northpowergrid) February 12, 2022
One person joked: “Dear Gareth can you lend me a few bob for a leaving party I am planning and my fines etc thank you B Johnson of London.”
Cash it and don't ask questions https://t.co/xg3O5t91lD
— Daniel Feldman (@d_feldman) February 14, 2022
Northern Powergrid confirmed that 74 customers had been affected by this “clerical error”, adding that they have stopped all cheques featuring missprints.
A spokeswoman for Northern Powergrid said: “As soon as we identified the clerical error, which was caused by the electricity meter reference number being incorrectly quoted as the payment sum, we ensured all 74 customers’ cheques were stopped so they could not be cashed.
Tell them all your lines are busy at the moment, but remind them what an important energy provider they are. Tell them you will be banking the cheque but if it it subsequently found to be an error, you will process a refund – which can take up to two weeks.
— Chris C (@ChrisC57655464) February 13, 2022
“We have been investigating how this error happened and carrying out checks of previous payments. All indications are that this was an isolated incident.
“We thank those customers who were honest and contacted us and we have been making contact directly over the weekend with all 74 customers affected to make them aware, apologise for the error and reassure them that a correct payment will be issued to them on Monday.”
Related links:
- Puppy dies as Storm Arwen rips roof off rescue centre
- Storm Arwen: Third person crushed to death by tree amid weather chaos
- Met Office issue danger to life warning as Storm Arwen heads to UK
