British Gas apologise as woman charged bill 16 times her normal rate

Joyce Hall, from Newton-le-Willows, has been living alone since her husband died last year and was transferred to British Gas during the energy crisis last summer.

Paying an average monthly payment of £217, Joyce was hit with a gas bill of £3,546 in November; a price increase of more than sixteen times her previous payment.

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Joyce, who used to work as a Literacy Adviser for Wigan Council before retiring, tried to contest the eye-watering bill but could not resolve the issue for months.

Her online meter readings repeatedly said "cancelled and replaced" so she could not get a complete understanding of where her bills were up to, and was then charged a further bill of £1,367 in January.

Joyce was charged the extortionate bill despite living alone in her Newton property (Image: Joyce Hall)

Joyce, 79, said: "I was putting my meter readings in but it just seemed like no one was taking any notice of them.

"It was so difficult to actually get to speak to someone about the problem, and I kept being assured that everything will be sorted. But then I continued to be in debit in my account, and received the huge bill in January.

"The bills were just absolutely ridiculous. I knew they were wrong but then it's so frustrating not being able to resolve it.

"It left me worrying about how much energy and heating I'm using while I'm on my own over winter."

Joyce said she was left worrying about how much she should heat her home over winter (Image: PA)

After getting in touch with British Gas, a spokesperson said that the two bills that Joyce received were "clearly wrong".

A spokesperson said: "These letters were generated by an administration error which was fixed on both occasions. 

"It’s important to note that Mrs Hall did not owe these amounts and that her payments did not increase, they stayed at £217.44 per month.

"We’ve spoken with Mrs Hall to apologise for the upset caused by the incorrect bills and reassured her that the errors have been fixed and that her account was £14.18 in debit on 01 February 2023.

"We have also promised to send a £30 goodwill payment."

British Gas have apologised for the bills, and said they were clearly wrong (Image: PA)

While the 79-year-old is happy that the issue has been resolved, she said that she still wanted to share the story to warn other residents not to accept such high bills.

Joyce, who has volunteered at Lyme Community Primary School and Victim Support at St Helens Gateway, added: "I've heard other horror stories from people being charged extortionate bills with British Gas.

"The charges and difficulty in communicating with [British Gas] is just not sensible.

"It can leave you in despair and I can imagine a lot of other people, especially the more vulnerable, would really struggle with it."