West Denton pensioner Jimmy Hope has blasted energy firm Eon for 'hounding' him with gas bills, debt collection and even bailiffs - even though he has no gas in his flat.
Eon has even sent its own engineer to read the meter at the ex-miner's flat, who left with just a photo of an empty cupboard where the meter had been before it was taken out when the flat was upgraded to electric heating last year.
But Jimmy says even the photographic proof that he has no gas to his flat has not deterred Eon, who have continued to send demands for more than £400, based on estimated readings, from October onwards. And when 82-year-old Jimmy told the energy company again that he no longer had a gas supply to his flat, he was asked to send a meter reading - from a meter he did not have.
"It's just got beyond a joke now," said Jimmy, who has lived in the local authority flat in the Newcastle suburb for the past 15 years. "I have been an Eon customer for many years and I cannot understand how they will not accept that I have no gas supply, no meter, nothing. I have had letters, emails and eight phone calls demanding the money, and now there is a debt collection agency involved. My meter was taken out on October 17, yet on February 20, there was a £414.66 estimated charge for gas on my quarterly bill.
"I contacted Eon at the end of February and that was when they asked me for a meter reading. I told them I did not have a meter, they said they would have to send someone out to confirm this, which they did, and I thought that would be the end of the matter. I thought I would get a new bill with all of the gas charges from October 20 taken off, which I could pay and then forget about it. But that didn't happen.
"Here I am, six months after the meter was taken out, and I am no further forward. There is no gas in the building at all now, all of the flats have been transferred to electric. I even showed the Eon engineer the hole in the wall where the gas pipe had been. I just don't know what is so difficult to understand and why Eon are persisting in harassing me for money I could not possibly owe them."
In desperation, Jimmy's son, also called Jimmy, contacted his dad's local councillor Tracey Mitchell to see if she could help resolve the matter. "Constant emails and telephone calls to explain the situation has still not rectified the situation with EON persisting on sending bills for gas," Ms Mitchell said. "Mr Hope is in his 80's and can do without the stress, as well as his son, who is trying to rectify the situation - but to no avail."
Mr Hope said that his account was substantially in credit when his meter was taken out, and as his monthly direct debit payment was only £65, he has not paid Eon since then, as he fully expected the credit and the Government's £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme to cover his usual electricity and increased usage due to the new central heating.
However, he is now worried that his credit might have run out and is anxious to get a correct bill so he can settle it. "Because I live in the middle of a block of flats, I don't really need to use my heating much," he said. "So I was not initially worried about stopping my direct debit as I knew there was enough money on the account to cover my usage. But time is moving on and I don't want to end up with a big bill when all this is eventually sorted. But I can't get a correct bill because Eon are persisting on including this estimated amount for my gas on the same bill. I really don't know what else I can do now."
An Eon spokesperson said: "We are trying to make contact with the customer to ensure this matter is fully resolved."
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