Brightmere Energy has apologised to customers who were incorrectly told by its digital assistant that they could pause payment plans. The Bristol-based supplier said around 1,400 customers were affected by messages sent between 9 and 19 March, and that it would honour the information they had received.
The announcement follows questions from customers about apparently conflicting answers from Nell, the assistant used in Brightmere's webchat and app, and from people handling their accounts. The company said it had contacted affected households and reviewed the relevant responses. It did not say that every payment arrangement would now be paused.
Chief Executive Gareth Linley said the company was sorry for the concern caused and would put matters right for those affected. Brightmere's published statement says it will honour the advice given. Customers who are unsure whether their account is included have been directed to an adviser who can check the conversation and arrangement.
For customer Caroline Heswall, the important part of that promise is what appears on her own account. She says she received a message about a payment break and then struggled to establish whether it had changed anything. 'An apology helps,' she said. 'I still want a letter that tells me what I'm expected to pay and when.'
Heswall said she had kept a copy of the chat rather than deleting it after speaking to an adviser. She does not want her account described as settled while an instalment remains unclear. Her account is one individual experience; the supplier has not published the conversations or explained how the cases differ.
Nell launched last October as an always-available way to handle ordinary energy-account questions. Brightmere says customers can ask to speak to a person when a request needs judgement or investigation. The payment-plan error has placed that handover under attention because a reassuring message may have been read as a decision by the supplier.
Asked how customers would recognise that their case had been corrected, a spokesperson said Brightmere was dealing directly with affected households. The company encouraged customers with remaining questions to use its normal contact routes. It has not published a customer-by-customer account of the remedy, which involves private payment information.
The supplier serves around 1.2 million homes and has its largest contact centre at Filton. Its advisers are now handling questions from people who want to know what Nell's answer means for them. Heswall says she will judge the response by the next account message she receives: 'I just need the chat and the bill to agree.'