As Victoria Coren shows computer malfunction could be a serious problem when it comes to our bills

As Victoria Coren Mitchell becomes the latest high profile figure to claim money was wrongly taken from her account by an energy company, Charles Arthur looks at how this is becoming an increasing problem and asks is our blind faith in computer systems misguided?

Only Connect TV presenter Victoria Coren Mitchell claimed Ovo Energy had ‘wrongly’ taken thousands of pounds from her bank account (BBC/Parasol Media Limited/Rory Lindsay)

Post Office helpline staff had a script when subpostmasters and postmistresses called about their problems with Horizon computers. “Nobody else is having these problems but you”, they would say. Thus “helpline” at once became unhelpful – more of a “helplie”.

Now we know the awful truth about a system whose flaws were baked in, where the humans who suffered because of them weren’t believed – and, even worse, where denial became an ingrained response to each new complaint. But why were the computers trusted so readily, even when some people knew they were faulty?

Daily life shows us that people – more specifically, organisations – trust computers probably more than they should. This week, broadcaster Victoria Coren Mitchell claimed Ovo Energy had ‘wrongly’ taken thousands of pounds from her bank account. Reacting to her social media post, hundreds of others shared their own horror stories of being wrongly issued with bills and demands from energy companies.