British Gas incorrect reading left pensioner overpaying energy bill for 7 years

British Gas has apologised after overcharging a pensioner on her energy bills for seven years because of their inaccurate calculations.

Ada Daly, 73, had to borrow cash and take on part-time jobs to pay her bill each month from her energy supplier.

As energy prices soared, Ms Daly had been paying £500 a month; however, after help from her husband’s friend, she proved that she was being overcharged over double what her actual bill was.

They discovered that her old imperial gas meter had been changed to a metric one but British Gas carried on­ ­calculating the bill using imperial measurements.

It meant Ada was paying nearly 2.5 times as much for gas at her small flat in Oban, since moving in seven years ago.

Despite ignoring repeated complaints that the fuel demands for her flat were wrong, British Gas have now admitted issuing the incorrect bills.

British Gas confessed it was “extremely sorry” and paid her back £3500 plus a ­paltry £250 goodwill payment.

Ms Daly said: “It is a nightmare when nobody listens to you for seven years. Because of British Gas, I’ve had to tighten my belt more and more in order to pay exorbitant fees, until I could hardly breathe from the stress and frustration.

“Thanks to British Gas, my ­outgoings have far exceeded my incomings. I’ve had to stop going on my annual holidays to South Africa to visit my family, I’ve had to give up my TV package.

“I’ve had to borrow money every month from my son in order to help pay my bills, I’ve had to give up socialising with friends, cinema trips, eating out.

“I’ve had to cancel a much-needed dental appointment because I couldn’t afford it, I’ve had to take on two part-time jobs in order to bring in some revenue for British Gas.”

A British Gas spokesman said: “We are extremely sorry for not resolving Ms Daly’s complaint sooner.”

An Ofgem spokesman said: “When things go wrong, suppliers must put things right quickly.

“Our customer service expectations are clearly defined in our Quality of Service Guaranteed Standards.”