AN ELDERLY, disabled man from Dyserth was left stunned after he was told that his energy provider would change without his consent.

David Simons, 80, lives in sheltered accommodation with his wife, Ann, who, is also disabled.

Despite there being a sign on their door reading: “no cold calling”, Mr Simons said that, on March 14, he and his wife were unexpectedly visited by two men from Utilita Energy.

At the time, the couple were customers of OVO Energy, and according to Mr Simons, had been for the last six years.

A fortnight later, despite Mr Simons’ best efforts, he and his wife were switched to Utilita.

Mr Simons’ case has since been raised as an erroneous transfer in the hope that his supply will return to OVO.

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He said: “I told them that I was not interested three times, and that was that; they went.

“But on March 21, my wife got a notification on her phone telling her we were going to be switched from OVO, who I’ve been with for six years and am about £600 in credit with, to Utilita.

“I phoned them and phoned them, and OVO said that I’d be switched back.

“But on March 23, I got a short letter from Utilita with a pre-payment meter card telling me that I had to go onto this card.

“I hadn’t signed or authorised anything. When I phoned Utilita, they said to get in touch with OVO. When I phoned OVO, they said get in touch with Utilita.

“I’ve spoken to them until I’m blue in the face, but I’ve been told there’s nothing they can do about it. They said they were within their rights to do this, and don’t need to inform you if a company applies to switch you over.”

Mr Simons believes the companies took advantage of the fact that he and his wife are both disabled and elderly.

He also said that he has already contacted Citizens Advice, North Wales Police, and Unite, the trade union of which he is a member, on the matter.

The lack of courtesy that he believes OVO has shown him has upset him, and has said he is “not accepting” the situation as it currently stands.

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Mr Simons added: “I’m up to the back teeth with it. It’s disgusting, I think, what’s happened.

“Plus, it’s now in my wife’s name, whereas it had always been in my name previously. I don’t know how they got her phone number, or how they were able to do all of this.

“I’m not accepting this. I want justice. We’re two disabled people; I’m 81 in August. My wife is a bundle of nerves.

“After six years (with OVO), I think I deserve a bit of courtesy, or a phone call, to let me know what they’re doing before they do it.”

When contacted by the Journal, OVO said that it has contacted Mr Simons to inform him that the company is unable to reject a request from another supplier when it wishes to take on a gas or electricity supply.

OVO said it also sent a letter to Mr Simons advising him to contact it on March 14 should he wish to stay with the company.

The company apologised to Mr Simons for the frustration this has caused him, and said it will do everything in its power to return his supply.

A Utilita spokesperson said: “We share Mr Simons’ frustrations, and upon a full investigation, we can confirm that our representatives followed the correct sales process, which is specifically designed to protect vulnerable households.

“Since revisiting the area, we have identified that the cold calling zone sign is inadequate and hard to spot.

“As a result, we have made it our responsibility to get the signage improved for Mr Simons and his neighbours.

“We believe energy conversations are best had at home, so, in the longer term, we hope our ongoing calls for a national ‘no cold call’ database will further protect vulnerable households.”