A SERIOUSLY ill pensioner is being threatened by British Gas bosses demanding she pays up for fuel she has never used.

Elizabeth Jenkins was stunned when she was confronted by three workers on her doorstep, demanding entry to her flat in Gourock’s Cardwell Road.

As a decade-long dispute boils over, British Gas sent her a warning letter stating that they had a warrant and would force their way in to her home to install a pay-as-you-go meter if she wasn’t in.

But Mrs Jenkins has never used gas in the River Clyde Homes property and has no gas appliances or gas heating supply.

Elizabeth, who is housebound, said: “The men came to my door and were banging on it. 

“I refused to let them in and I phoned the police — I am not letting people into my house.

“This is ridiculous.

“It has been going on for ten years.

“I keep telling them I have no gas in this flat and never had any since I moved in — it is all storage heaters and electricity.

“I don’t have an account because I am not a customer.”

Community volunteer Elizabeth has a heart condition and spent a five-week long spell in hospital and since then she has been unable to leave the house.

She has helped many people over the years, including fighting for local asylum seekers.

Elizabeth said: “I am not a weak old lady, I am fighting them all the way. 

“They are not getting over my door to put in a pay-as-you-go meter.

“They promised me this was sorted six years ago — I even had an apology after contacting my MP and I was told that it would not happen again.

“They send me letters and I send them back with the postman.

“I am not letting them back in my house.”

In a letter dated March 4 this year, British Gas told Liz they were going to fit a pay-as-you-go meter.

The energy firm informed her that  she still owed them money, and said they had been granted a warrant of entry to gain access to her property.

It read: ‘If no one answers the door when we visit a locksmith may have to drill out and replace your locks to let us in’.

In 2014 then-Inverclyde MP Iain McKenzie stepped in to take up Elizabeth’s case and fight her corner.

He received an apology from British Gas customer manager at the time Les Pickard and an assurance that everything was sorted out.

The letter said: ‘I was sorry to hear we had again billed Mrs Jenkins for gas and can confirm I have now resolved the issue.

‘I have removed the details from our system and updated the National Grid and Mrs Jenkins will get no further correspondence regarding this.’

When the Tele contacted British Gas about their latest approaches they put a block on the warrant — but insisted they need entry to Mrs Jenkins’ property, despite the assurances she was given six years ago.

A spokeswoman said: “The warrant officer who visited her property advised he could see a gas pipe leading into the property and told the customer he would just need to take a photo of the area where the meter had been removed — but the customer refused entry.

“The gas supply is showing as live both in our systems and the gas National Database and a meter is currently attached. 

“To get to the bottom of this we would need to gain access to the property.

“We can then confirm the meter is no longer there, remove it from the National Database and withdraw from the supply.”

The Tele contacted Elizabeth’s landlords River Clyde Homes, who said that it was usually the customer’s responsibility to liaise with utility companies themselves, but added that on this occasion they would contact British Gas.