A raging pensioner has been hit with gas bills for a house 200 miles away because she has the same name as a woman in Scotland.
Christine Young from Droitwich, Worcestershire, was shocked when she first received a bill from Scottish Gas demanding she cough up £424.53, reports the Daily Record
On closer inspection, she found that the bill which was in the name of James and Helen Young — for a home she had nothing to do with – in Gretna Green, Dumfriesshire.
Despite her telling Scottish Gas about the mix-up all the way back in April, 69-year-old Christine kept receiving reminders and final demands.
The retired civil servant, who has never married and has no children, has lived in her home for 54 years.
She said: "I've never even been to Scotland but I keep receiving letters to pay Scottish Gas £424.53.
"I started getting these bills in April for a James and Helen Young, for a home in Cadgill Road, Gretna Green, in Dumfriesshire.
"All we share is a surname, I don't know them at all. I sent the letter back writing on it 'not at this address'.
"The letters kept coming, and the bills started appearing on my account. I had one letter sent to 'Christine and Helen Young'.
Christine, who underwent a heart operation for high blood pressure in 2019, said she had made "hundreds of calls" but had ended up frustrated after being "passed around departments" and wasting hours of her day.
She added: "In one (of the calls) a woman said it was an obvious error and would be looked into, but it has never been sorted.
"If anything it gets worse – my 'correspondence address' has even been changed to the Gretna address on my online account now."
And in yet another customer service insult, she told the Scottish newspaper that her real utility bills from British Gas have started being addressed to both her and her late mother — who died in 2016.
She said: "That really upset me. When mum died I asked the company to take her name off future correspondence but obviously that never happened."
British Gas and Scottish Gas owners Centrica have apologised for the error.
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