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Understand a bill or statement that doesn't make sense

A bill arrived and the total looks wrong. Get it translated into plain English with the lines to query.

Updated 17 Oct 2026

The prompt · ChatGPT

Help me understand this bill or statement.

What it's for: [energy, phone, water, card statement, other]
The confusing parts: [paste totals, dates, meter readings, fees]
What I expected: [amount or "not sure"]
Any recent change: [moved house, new tariff, working from home]

Ask me up to 3 short questions first if anything important is missing. Wait for my answers.

Then:
1. A plain-English walkthrough of the bill.
2. Lines that look worth querying, with why.
3. Figures I should gather before I call (readings, previous bill).
4. A short, polite query message.
5. When to escalate to an ombudsman or Citizens Advice, without inventing deadlines.

Only use what I've told you, leave blanks for anything I haven't given, and don't invent facts, figures or products. UK English.

For official guidance for querying this type of UK bill, use web search and name the page you used. If it doesn't search on its own, open View all tools and choose Search.

Stay in this ChatGPT chat. Do not turn on apps or connectors, and do not use memory from another chat.

A short example

Fill the blanks, then paste. energy, phone, water, card statement, other: a short note you already have. paste totals, dates, meter readings, fees: a short note you already have. Leave the rest of the prompt as written.

This does not give tax advice. The books stay in the accounting system.

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