A Fife man was billed £5,000 for a gas supply he does not have.
David Tyrie, 62, from Newport, says he has been at loggerheads with Scottish Gas after receiving two bills from the firm in the last few months.
Although Scottish Gas provides the electricity at his Kinbrae Park Gardens home, the property is heated by a district heating system – for which Davie pays a fee.
The Caledonia Housing tenant received a first bill of £258 from Scottish Gas in July.
While trying to query it with the provider, he was hit with a further bill of more than £5,000 just weeks later.
‘Frustration’ after Fife man hit with huge gas bill
Davie said: “I moved into this house in May and I was happy as Larry when I moved here.
“I got this bill in July stating I was due £258 for gas.
“We have a boiler room, it provides gas for all the flats, and we pay a fee for heating as part of our tenancy agreement.
“I essentially have no gas supply and no gas meter.
“When the first bill came in, trying to query it was a frustrating process.”
Despite assurances from Scottish Gas that it was investigating the matter, Davie received a final bill worth thousands.
The former HGV driver contacted the company again, questioning the second letter for payment.
He added: “When the second demanding letter came in, it was frustrating to say the least.
“They explained they were ‘sorry to see me go’ and slapped another £5,200 on the bill.
“It showed a meter reference number on the invoice.
“I contacted Scottish Gas and asked them where they were getting these figures from.
‘I fear elderly people could be duped’
“I also told them to bring a meter reader round to prove I didn’t have one.
“The whole thing has been a stressful process – especially when you’re trying to explain it to a call centre operator.
“I fear elderly people could be duped into just taking these invoices as gospel and paying them.”
A spokesman for Scottish Gas confirmed Davie had been billed in error.
He said: “We’re very sorry and we’ve spoken with Mr Tyrie to put things right and to reassure him that the bills have now been cancelled.
“This was due to an address error on our system which has now been resolved, and we also will apply a goodwill credit to Mr Tyrie’s electricity account.”
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