Energy biz SSE smacked around in court by a guy and AI

British energy provider SSE Energy Supply found itself embroiled in a legal battle when doctoral student Lyle Hopkins challenged the company's attempt to bill him for an unused electricity meter. Over the course of 20 months, SSE had billed Hopkins £1,091.01 for the property's meter, which had previously been associated with an unsuccessful attempt to convert it into flats.

Despite being informed that he was not responsible for the debt, SSE proceeded to hire debt collectors to recover the money from the non-existent address. Hopkins, feeling harassed, turned to AI-powered legal assistance, using GPT-5.5 and Claude Fable to help him challenge the alleged debt. After a long and costly legal process, a judge awarded Hopkins £1,087.88, including expenses and interest.

Despite SSE's initial offer to pay a smaller amount under confidentiality terms, Hopkins refused, insisting on having his claims verified. The judge noted that Hopkins had been subjected to a "rollercoaster ride" by SSE, and his victory was a relief for the plaintiff, who had spent nearly three years battling the unwarranted debt claims.

The experience left Hopkins exhausted and contributed to the delay of his doctoral degree completion. Hopkins is now launching a campaign to help other researchers complete their degrees, as the time spent on this case could have been better used for his studies. SSE's media team was unavailable for comment, but they did provide an automated response confirming that the company was not commenting on the matter outside of business hours.