A Scottish family living in a council house have been fitted a mighty electricity bill of nearly £12,000 from Scottish Power.
Martin Georgeson and his partner Caroline, from Falkirk, have been left demanding answers as to why they have been charged as much as £1500 per month for electricity.
The couple, who live in Avonbridge with their two children, say they don't accept that they can possibly be using an average of £500 every month to provide heating and hot water to their home.
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The Record reports how the highest bill that the couple received was an astronomical £1500, with others coming in at £777 and £550.
After moving into the property, they were informed by the council that it benefits from a Thermaflow boiler, which provides heating and hot water. The pair thought it was newly installed and did not bat an eyelid.
However, they were not aware that the previous tenants had discovered two months earlier that their heating bills had suddenly hiked 300 per cent. They were also in talks with Scottish Power and Falkirk Council to resolve the issue.
Mum Caroline, a recently qualified nurse, said: "When we moved in, we were told it was an electric system that provided heating and hot water and it would be very slightly more expensive."
Martin added: "No-one told us it was actually going to be four or even five times what we had been paying before for almost exactly the same house."
While the couple waited for answers from Scottish Power, they continued to pay a respectful and average monthly bill of £68. In 2020, they phoned to ask about claiming their warm homes discount and were asked to provide a meter reading.
Martin said: "The woman on the phone said that the reading could not be right - it was exceptionally high. But when we queried it we were told it was correct and our electricity usage is averaging £500 a month.
"We said we weren't willing to pay that. It's impossible to be using that much power in an average home, with average appliances."
Martin and Caroline escalated their issue to the Ombudsman and were subsequently offered a letter of apology for the lack of customer service and £100 compensation.
The couple refused this on the grounds that there had reportedly been no proper investigation, no check meter had been fitted and nobody had looked into why the boiler was using so much power.
The house was privately owned until the council bought it back in 2019 and at first it seemed perfect.
But the couple are only now discovering the extent to which people in the off-gas areas around Falkirk have been facing massive energy bills ever since prices started to increase.
Falkirk Council has agreed to install gas in most of the villages and will pay for new heating systems at a cost of £8 million, although that work has not yet started.
Martin said: "We have been talking to people and are gradually beginning to realise the extent of the situation."
Their local councillor, Claire Mackie-Brown, says that the family are among many who should have been given more information about exactly how expensive the heating system is.
"The stress for this family is awful and there are still hundreds of others in a similar situation," she said.
"People need to be told much more clearly what these heating systems are like. It's just so unfair for people."
Martin said: "It's just a complete nightmare - no-one wants to admit there is a problem.
"We're an ordinary family living in an average house. If anything, we are very careful about the heating we use, so we just should not be faced with bills like this.
"No-one wants to take responsibility for it but we are not willing to accept that this debt is ours. This needs to be investigated properly by experts."
A Scottish Power spokesperson said: "The customer previously raised a complaint about her billing and her concerns about a potential faulty meter with the Energy Ombudsman. The Ombudsman fully investigated this and, in January 2022, found no issues with the meter or billing and recommended that a suitable payment plan be put in place that took account of both her ongoing usage and her outstanding arrears.
"A letter of apology for the shortfall in customer service and a goodwill payment were also suggested - the customer turned this down.
"As a result of a further complaint raised last week, we have stopped all follow-up activity on this account while we investigate further. This will include a visit from our customer liaison team - which we are actively trying to arrange - to check the meter and usage at the property as well as a review of the account to ensure the customer is getting all the help and support she's entitled to.
"In line with other suppliers, we have currently suspended all warrant installations."
A Falkirk Council spokesperson said: "We have recently been made aware of this tenant's energy costs and will contact them to establish ways we can help in relation to fuel poverty.
"The Housing Investment Programme includes the installation of new triple glazed, A rated windows and doors to improve energy efficiency. The offer to install these replacement windows and doors was declined by the tenant. The property does have solar panels installed and this usage would appear excessive.
"The Council has no influence over the tariffs set by energy companies."
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