A YORK man was furious when British Gas threatened to cut off his gas and electricity - even though he is an npower customer.

Malcolm Brown, 50, of Bellwood Drive, Woodthorpe, York, was shocked when he received a £106 electricity bill and a £50 gas bill from British Gas on top of his usual bills from npower.

When he refused to pay, British Gas started threatening to disconnect his power.

He said: "They were threatening to take me to court and switch me off. I contacted them to say I wasn't a British Gas customer but they insisted that I was."

Mr Brown, who cares for his 73-year-old mother at home, says he has never been a British Gas customer. He has bought his power from Northern Electric, which has since become npower, since he moved into his house in 1998.

He said: "It has been quite traumatic. I have always paid my bills and I was still paying npower while I was being charged by British Gas.

"My mother relies on insulin, which needs to be kept in the fridge. If they switched our power off it would be quite an ordeal for her."

He said that he had been so concerned about the effect this may have had on his mother, who suffers from ill health and has had a stroke, that he has kept it a secret from her.

"If she had known about this it could have brought on another stroke. It's a disgrace."

He said he had been so upset by the incident, he was considering taking legal action against the company.

British Gas admitted Mr Brown was not one of their customers and they billed him due to an error on their part.

Stephen Chawke, British Gas spokesman, said: "We're very sorry to Mr Brown for the upset caused. The problem stems from a regrettable address mix-up.

"Unfortunately, this caused a British Gas account to open for Mr Brown, instead of a customer nearby who had signed a contract to transfer to us. We will, of course, be cancelling any charges and apologising to Mr Brown direct.

"We will also make a goodwill payment for the inconvenience involved."

Last month the Evening Press reported that British Gas sent a £1,300 gas bill to York couple Harold and Dorothy Amos even though they had switched suppliers three years earlier.

Updated: 10:44 Tuesday, July 08, 2003