British Gas Overpaid Customer £38,000 by Mistake After Solar Panel Feed-In Tariff Claim
British Gas paid a customer more than £38,000 by mistake after the customer submitted a claim for £300 for energy exported through their solar panels. The payment was made under the feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme, which provides quarterly payments for energy exported to the grid. Following the error, British Gas had no clear process to reclaim the overpayment.
Why this matters
The case illustrates systemic billing failures within legacy energy supplier administration, particularly around the feed-in tariff scheme. An overpayment of this scale, more than 125 times the amount claimed, points to inadequate controls in payment processing systems. Customers receiving such payments face uncertainty about their obligations to repay, and suppliers face reputational and regulatory exposure.
On the Ground
Energy regulatory and consumer law work is activated: advising on supplier obligations to recover mistaken payments, customer rights to retain or repay windfalls, and potential Ofgem complaints. A trainee would review the relevant FIT scheme regulations, draft a timeline of events, and research case law on recovery of mistaken payments.
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“What are a customer's legal obligations if an energy supplier overpays them by mistake under the feed-in tariff scheme?”
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