A pensioner has described her “nightmare” after receiving a shock energy bill for more than £27,000 for her one-bedroom flat.

Janine Duffell, of Montgomery Road in South Darenth, who is disabled and lives alone, was paying £53.50 a month for her gas and electricity.

The letter read: “Please pay £30,085.13 by 9 June, 2025, thank you.

“You can find simple ways to pay on the last page of this bill.”

Janine, 57, said she felt sick when she saw it, adding: “I would never be able to pay this amount, and I really don’t know which way to turn.

“I’m living on disability income only and I am the one person living in a one-bedroom flat.

“I feel like they are punishing me.”

The former publican has degenerative hip and spine disease and ulcerative colitis, which has been exacerbated by stress after receiving the bill.

The problems started when Janine got in touch with British Gas to change tariffs after being told her current payments did not cover her usage.

She said she was struggling to pay and owed them £742.49 for electricity, which had built up over a few months.

The pensioner changed tariffs to cover the debt, and was expecting to pay £121 per month.

But to her surprise, her May statement showed a debit of more than £30,000 and that she had been charged £27,864.20 for one day of energy use.

After KentOnline got in contact with British Gas on Janine’s behalf, she received an apology from the company for the distress caused.

A complaints adviser told Janine an estimated meter reading of 50078 m3 was used for the gas instead of the actual reading of 3213 m3 on May 18, causing a charge of £27,864.20.

She explained the error should have been “manually rectified” and addressed the “shock” of receiving such a bill.

But in response, Janine said: “How can you trust them? Are our bills correct? How do they justify this? Don’t they check the bills before sending them out?”

Despite explaining the bill was a mistake, Janine is sceptical about how her new tariff could be double what she was paying previously.

“I only have two cups of tea in the morning. I don’t have any in the afternoon because I’m avoiding boiling the kettle. Everything is switched off.

“I’ve got friends with three-bedroom houses who are paying less than me.”

Before she had the issue resolved, Janine said: “I’m going to end up in hospital because of this. My blood pressure is dangerously high, I’m really frightened.

“It’s been a nightmare.”

She has now been put on a pay-as-you-go plan where she pays for exactly what she uses each month.

The pensioner is now waiting for an accessible smart meter monitor to be installed in her home so she can track her energy usage.

She said: “I want to know how much energy I’m using and why it is so high. It makes me feel like someone’s draining off my electricity.

“I want a meter in front of me and something I can top up.”

A spokesman for British Gas said: “We’ve resolved this for Ms Duffell and have been in touch to say sorry.

“We’ve reassured her that the bill she received was sent in error, and we’ve offered a goodwill gesture in light of her experience which leaves her account in credit.”

The company has also directed the customer to its ‘You Pay: We Pay’ initiative which is designed to match energy payments made by customers who are in need of help.

Have you been ripped off or treated unfairly by a company? Send details of your consumer issue to KentOnline for our team to investigate. Email news@thekmgroup.co.uk