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National Grid billed customers twice
March 13, 2008
by Larry Rulison, Business writer
National Grid said today it billed 5,773 customers twice over the past week because of a billing system error.

Customers throughout upstate New York were affected.

The mistake affected customers who paid their bills online between Friday and Monday. The customers received two debit entries on their bank statement for the same bill.

The double entries started showing up on bank statements Tuesday.

“We apologize for the mistake and any inconvenience and confusion it caused our customers,” National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella said.

National Grid is crediting customers’ bank accounts and sending e-mails to those who were double-charged. Stella said it would work with a customer’s bank to get any bank service fees waived or reimbursed because of the error. And National Grid will give the affected customers a $25 credit on their bill, “saying we’re sorry for the inconvenience caused by the double-billing,” Stella added.

Customers with questions should call 1-800-642-4272.