AN ELECTRICITY company has apologised to a Greenock pensioner after wrongly billing her for £1,200.

Ella Coventry, who lives in Battery Park Drive, was stunned when she received the massive bill from Scottish Power last week, with a demand that she pay up within days.

The 77-year-old called the company to complain about the bill — which was dated from last October to January this year — but to no avail.

After the Telegraph took up her case, Scottish Power admitted they had made a mistake and had overcharged her by nearly £1,000.

A Scottish Power spokesperson said: “There was an issue transferring Mrs Coventry’s account back to Scottish Power from another supplier. 

“Unfortunately this means that Mrs Coventry’s account has not been charged since October 2017. 

“The issue was investigated by the Energy Ombudsman, and they ruled that Scottish Power should apply our cheapest rates and reduce the outstanding bill by £100. 

“We have written to Mrs Coventry to outline the issues, and we have corrected the bill and offered to reduce it by a further £50. 

“This means the outstanding balance is £216.66, which we are happy to agree a payment plan for. 

“We sincerely apologise to Mrs Coventry for the inconvenience and concern caused.”

Ella said that the situation had caused her a great deal of stress.

She said: “I could hardly talk after reading it, I was just wandering about the house.”

Her son Paul, who has been helping his mum resolve the issue, said the confusion over his mum’s account has been ongoing since she joined back in 2016.

He said: “I don’t know how many times we have been on the phone to them about this.

“It has been very stressful.”