Opus Energy has admitted that a voice supposedly of a London licensee - on the recording of a verbal contract with the company - actually belongs to someone else.
Anthony Casey, husband of Trust Inns tenant Tracy Casey, requested the recording following disputes with Opus. Bills increased from £255 a month, when the contract started last November, to £695 and now £948.
It's diabolical. If it had sounded like him they would have had us over a barrel and we would have had to prove it wasn't himTrust Inns tenant Tracy Casey.
But the licensee of Millfords, central London, was shocked to find the voice on the CD supposedly recording his conversation with a third-party agent was not his.
Opus has offered to refund everything they have paid if British Gas, the previous supplier, takes back his account and issues back-dated bills.
The couple also dispute the amount Opus said they owe. A letter dated 19 June demanded £2,266. A letter from 20 June put the figure at £3,308.
"I told Opus it wasn't my voice on the recording and they agreed with that," said Anthony, who added that he thought the voice sounded foreign. Tracy said: "It's diabolical. If it had sounded like him they would have had us over a barrel and we would have had to prove it wasn't him."
In the recording, "Anthony" agrees to pay 9.98p per KWh. Opus has now agreed to re-duce it to 7.9p but the Caseys are holding out for 7.5p, which is the level they would have paid with British Gas.
Opus head of customer services Andy Nash said: "We listened to the verbal contract and agreed that the voice didn't sound like Mr Casey.
"We had some concern about how on earth somebody else's voice could be on the contract so we decided we will take it back to the previous supplier. I think there was sufficient concern to doubt the legitimacy of the contract."
Nash said Opus offered to give supply back to British Gas under a process called "erroneous transfer".
When asked if the third-party agent who brokered the contract was responsible for the situation, Nash said: "I think it's fair to say that, but I think it's also fair to say that is one of the agents we no longer work with."
Nash declined to reveal the agent's name. Anthony Casey said the agent's details are not stated on Opus documents.
More should ask for recordings
Energywatch recommends that other Opus customers ask for a recording of verbal contracts with Opus if they feel they have been mis-sold.
A spokesman for the energy watchdog added: "Opus can say all they want about a third party agent, but Opus has to take responsibility because they used their commercial judgements to use these agents.
"Such underhand sales tactics are just not acceptable."
Energywatch can be contacted on 0845 906 0708 or via www.energywatch.org.uk.