A mum who was sent a £336,865 electricity bill by error says she was told to split it on to a 'payment plan' after contacting her supplier to dispute it.
Emma Martin, 40, checked her EDF account only to discover her electricity usage had soared to the cost of a house – in just one month.
The school worker said her gas bill had not changed, but her electricity had dramatically risen.
Concerned about the extortionate cost, Emma said she tried to get in contact with EDF to explain the situation, but she was unable to get an answer.
When she finally manged to speak to someone on the energy company's online forum she was simply asked "would you like to split the payment over 36 months?"
Emma, from Hartlepool, Durham, said: "When I first saw that number I had a bit of a panic because it's not what you expect to see when checking your monthly bills.
"I instantly knew there had been a mistake but no one from EDF would reassure me the problem would be sorted out.
Have you been sent an incorrect bill? Get in touch: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
"When I called their phone lines they just cut out and on their online chat they replied around once every 16 hours.
"When I finally did get through to someone they plainly asked me if I wanted to split the payment over 36 months which was just mental.
"As you can imagine I was very concerned."
EDF admitted a mistake had been made and have since rectified Ms Martin’s bil.
A spokesperson for EDF said: "When setting up the Direct Debit online, an incorrect electricity meter reading was submitted which resulted in the higher monthly charge.
"Mrs Martin has never received a bill for this amount and we've now corrected the meter readings."
Hundreds of thousands of households are facing huge energy bill rises in the coming weeks, with suppliers quoting up to £3,700 a year, as the new energy price cap is unveiled.
The cap limits how much suppliers can charge those on default tariffs and prepayment meters is set to rocket from April 1 due to sky-high wholesale prices.
Many households protected by cheap fixed-rate deals are also facing massive increases, as their tariffs run out over the coming weeks.
Figures from the website TheEnergyShop shows at least 226 such deals will expire before March.
Those who signed up a year ago could have been paying a typical £850 to £950 a year for gas and electricity.
See our guide on how to reduce your gas and electricity bills, here.
