British Gas has apologised after it told a customer it was sending his details to a debt collector for a £2,500 bill which the energy supplier had charged in error.
But after being contacted by BBC Money Box, the energy supplier apologised and confirmed Mr Spink, from south-east London, did not in fact owe any money and would be compensated £500. British Gas was at the centre of a scandal last year when it emerged debt agents working for the energy supplier "They said in one letter they were going to come round to my house to see what the situation was and if anyone had come round I was going to read the riot act to them... what the hell do you think you're playing at?"Mr Spink's neighbour Angela said the pair kept phoning British Gas to contest the incorrect bill but added it was "like constantly banging your head on a brick wall".
Mr Spink said he felt the situation was handled "appallingly" by British Gas and he was being "fobbed off half the time" over the past nine months.British Gas described Mr Spink's situation as a customer service problem and it had resolved the incorrect bill before being contacted by the BBC, but had not told him about doing so.