A WOMAN who has never even been to Scotland has been left furious after receiving a £400 bill for a property 200 miles from her actual home.
Christine Young, 69, was stunned when she received a bill from Scottish Gas demanding she stump up hundreds of pounds – for a home she doesn’t live in.
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The retired civil servant, from Droitwich, Worcester, has lived in her West Midlands home for 54 years and has never even BEEN to Scotland.
She received the bill ordering her to pay £424.53, but it was actually addressed to James and Helen Young for their home in Gretna Green, Dumfriesshire.
Despite informing Scottish Gas about the expensive mix-up back in April, Christine says she has continued to be bombarded with reminders and final demands from the company.
The 69-year-old, who has never married and has no children, says that despite sharing a surname, she has no ties to the Scottish couple or their home.
She explained: “I’ve never even been to Scotland but I keep receiving letters to pay Scottish Gas £424.53.
“I started getting these bills in April for a James and Helen Young, for a home in Cadgill Road, Gretna Green, in Dumfriesshire.
“All we share is a surname, I don’t know them at all. I sent the letter back writing on it ‘not at this address’.
“The letters kept coming, and the bills started appearing on my account. I had one letter sent to ‘Christine and Helen Young’.”
The frustrated homeowner says she has made “hundreds of calls” which have taken up countless hours of her time as she is “passed around departments”.
Christine continued: “In one (of the calls) a woman said it was an obvious error and would be looked into, but it has never been sorted.
“If anything it gets worse – my ‘correspondence address’ has even been changed to the Gretna address on my online account now.”
The 69-year-old, who underwent a heart operation for high blood pressure in 2019, told how she is fed up with the ongoing situation which has plagued her for months.
This bill for the Scotland house is nothing to do with me – I don’t know anyone in Scotland, I have never been there.
Christine Young
“It has been going on for so long now, no one listens,” she said.
“You can never speak to someone. I get stuck on their online chat for hours. I just want them to do something about it.
“I have a smart meter, I pay a direct debit bill for my home.
“This bill for the Scotland house is nothing to do with me – I don’t know anyone in Scotland, I have never been there.”
And to make her relationship with the company even worse, she says her actual bills from British Gas have started being addressed to her and her late mother who passed away in 2016.
“That really upset me,” Christine added.
“When mum died I asked the company to take her name off future correspondence but obviously that never happened.”
British Gas and Scottish Gas owners Centrica have apologised for the error.
