A DISTRESSED Greenock pensioner says she can’t sleep at night after she became embroiled in a new wrangle with a second energy supplier.

The Tele recently reported how Scottish Power had apologised to Ella Coventry after wrongly billing her for £1,200.

Bosses at the electricity firm admitted they had made a mistake by overcharging her and disclosed that there was an issue trying to transfer Mrs Coventry’s account back to Scottish Power from her previous supplier First Utility.

Although the issue has been resolved with Scottish Power, the 77-year-old has now received a bill for £450 from First Utility and says she is stumped by the demand.
Ella, of Battery Park Drive, told the Tele: “This is making me ill.

“I can’t sleep for worrying about it.”

First Utility have acknowledged problems connected with Mrs Coventry’s account switch.

They have apologised to her but say that while they sympathise with her plight, the bill they have sent her is accurate.

A spokesperson said: “We are sorry for the frustrations that Mrs Coventry has experienced whilst trying to change her energy supplier.

“The issues with Mrs Coventry’s account stem from her having an Economy 10 meter — which our systems can not yet support. 

“When we noticed this, we advised her to switch due to billing issues that she may encounter with her account; Mrs Coventry agreed and in March 2016, decided to cancel her direct debit and switch to Scottish Power - her previous supplier. 

“For this, we sent Mrs Coventry a letter to apologise for her experience and also issued her a goodwill gesture.”

The statement added: “Unfortunately, due to errors by Scottish Power, it took over a year for her account to be switched. 

“This meant that between March 2016 and October 2017, Mrs Coventry was being billed by First Utility and didn’t make any payments to her account in that time. 

“With that in mind and as agreed by the ombudsman, we can confirm that Mrs Coventry has been accurately billed and that her outstanding balance with First Utility is accurate.”

The firm say that they will speak to Mrs Coventry to discuss ways that she can pay off her bill, but the senior citizen says she is unfairly losing out.

She told the Tele: “I think it’s ridiculous that First Utility are asking me for £450.

“I cancelled my direct debit with them back in March 2016 when I switched to Scottish Power.

“I was with First Utility for 10 months and I paid £70 a month which is a total of £700.

“It’s very unfair that they are demanding money from me due to no fault of my own.”