By the time I got through to someone at British Gas to complain about them holding £491 of my money in credit, they were holding £924. This was made up of £858 of my own money plus £66 from the government support scheme, the first instalment of which had just hit my account. So there it was, nearly a thousand pounds sitting there, doing nothing, and the builder boyfriend and I were agonising over whether we could afford to go to West Byfleet for a kebab.
British Gas had emailed me to inform me that it was giving me this £66 a month. And I had emailed back to complain bitterly about it. I just thought it was a cheek that they were giving me charity while holding my money in credit, having overestimated my usage ahead of winter and the excruciating price rises, so I’m paying £368 a month. This is more than £4,000 a year – for all the gas we might not use this winter because obviously we are cutting down now it’s so expensive.
Get Britain's best politics newsletters
Register to get The Spectator's insight and opinion straight to your inbox. You can then read two free articles each week.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in