Scottish Gas has admitted “human error” caused a two-month account nightmare for an Arbroath pensioner grieving after his wife’s death.
Jim Smith from Arbroath endured weeks of hassle trying to have the energy bill changed into his name after the death of his wife, Margo, in January.
The company eventually sent him a final bill after mistakenly thinking the long-term customer was closing his account.
And the firm piled extra stress onto the 73-year-old after trying to claim money for a property in Aberdeen he has never had any connection to.
It ended with a debt collection agency letter to the upset OAP.
The company has now compensated Mr Smith and said sorry for the “human error” which led to the fiasco.
But the catalogue of errors was only resolved after The Courier contacted Scottish Gas to investigate his complaint.
The couple’s son said it was an entirely avoidable situation which had piled agony on his father following the family tragedy.
Scottish Gas caused 2-month nightmare for Arbroath pensioner
Mrs Smith died on January 13, aged 83.
Her husband wanted to make sure authorities and utility companies were told, and her name removed from accounts.
Mr Smith’s son, Mark, said: “Dad called Scottish Gas at the end of January to notify the change of name. The direct debit details were to stay the same, it was just to replace mum’s name with my dad’s.
“Within the first two weeks of February he received at least two letters stating, ‘sorry you’re leaving us’ and you owe us £44.
“He called them again to say he wasn’t leaving but just wanted to change the name on the account.
“Eventually it was confirmed as changed but he reckons he was passed from pillar to post in at least nine phone calls.”
Mark added: “But at the end of February he also received a letter from Scottish Gas regarding a final bill for £85 for a property in Kittybrewster Square, Aberdeen.
“He called them to say he has never had a second address in Aberdeen but that fell on deaf ears.
“They gave him until March 13 to pay the bill, but he then received a letter from a debt recovery firm in Stockport with a demand for £113.47.
“It’s been a very stressful time for us as a family experiencing a recent bereavement and this has been a nightmare for dad.”
What action has Scottish Gas taken?
A day after The Courier contacted Scottish Gas for a response on Mr Smith’s situation, the company offered him an apology and compensation.
“They called him and said it was human error,” added his son.
“He was offered £300 compensation and accepted that. He just wanted to get rid of the whole thing and put it behind him.
“This whole thing just went from bad to worse, it was one disaster after another.
“They could see the number of phone calls he had made to try and get this sorted out.
“It’s a bit unbelievable it has taken this to get it sorted.”
Scottish Gas said: “We know that this is a difficult time for Mr Smith and we’ve spoken to him to say sorry.
“We’ve confirmed that the energy account is in his name and we’ve applied a goodwill credit.”
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