Well that’s exactly what happened to Phuket resident Mr Boonlerd Nokbanjong yesterday (Mar 28), leaving him in total disbelief.
“I usually pay between B800 to B1,000 maximum each month, but this month my bill was for B468,182.82. This is insane and impossible,” Mr Boonlerd said.
“I had no extra income for the last four to five months so I didn’t turn on the air-con and used only a fan.
“Luckily, when I notified officials at the Phuket Electricity Authority (PEA) they noticed there had been a mistake and agreed to change the amount I owed,” Mr Boonlerd added.
Chief of accounting and processing at the PEA, Chonsorn Chetawan, today (Mar 29) presented Mr Boonlerd with a revised bill with a due amount of just over B800. He also apologised for the error made.
Mr Chonsorn explained: “Officials who do the meter reading read an old damaged meter.
“We were notified by Mr Boonlerd’s relatives yesterday that they thought there had been some kind of mistake on the bill so we examined the bill and our records,” he said.
“We have rectified the error made and given him the correct bill. He certainly doesn't have to pay B400,000 on Apr 3.
“We have also set up a committee to investigate the official responsible for this error to prevent a problem like this in the future,” Mr Chonsorn said.
Mr Boonlerd said that he understands that human error does happen, but he has asked officials to pay extra attention to these numeral details before sending a bill to residents.
“I don’t want to see anyone have a heart attack if they receive a high monthly bill like this.
“Others may not handle the situation well, and I would not have known what to do if my friends and relatives had not helped me,” he said.
Kurt | 29 March 2016 - 21:11:05