In the middle of the country’s energy crisis, a prominent British energy company apologized to its clients after sending them socks asking them to dial down the heat.
E.ON Next delivered socks with a tag attached to them to around 30,000 families, stating that decreasing their heat would reduce CO2. Last year, the homes took part in a “energy conservation program,” according to The Guardian.
The sock’s message could not have arrived at a more inconvenient time: U.K. homeowners are experiencing increasing energy prices as a result of a combination of cold weather, nuclear plant outages in France, and reduced gas supplies from Russia. According to Bank of America, British households would pay £790 ($1,075) more this year to heat and light their houses.
The energy firm apologized on Twitter, saying it was “very sorry.” E.ON Next has been contacted by CNN Business for comment.
“If you recently got a pair of socks from us, we would want to express our deepest apologies for how we may have made some individuals feel,” the tweet said. “In view of the gravity of many people’s present circumstances, this mailing should have been halted, and we apologize.”
Customers rushed to Twitter to express their dissatisfaction with the firm.
One person wrote, “I don’t want your cheap disgusting free socks, I want reduced electricity costs please.”
Another person wrote, “Seriously, energy costs are going higher.” “What the bloody hell is going on here?”
The major opposition Labour Party demanded earlier this week that Prime Minister Boris Johnson impose a windfall tax on corporations extracting oil and gas from the North Sea. According to the party, the tax would save the typical household £200 ($272).
SSE, which is owned by OVO Energy, received outrage earlier this week after sending an email to customers advising them to stay warm this winter by cuddling with their dogs and eating “hearty bowls of porridge.”
“Customers were recently emailed a link to a blog with energy-saving advice. We recognize how terrible this year’s situation will be for many of our customers “OVO Energy’s spokesman confirmed this.