A MAN got the shock of his life when he opened a £15,000 gas bill.

Charles Bartlett could not believe he had used thousands of pounds of energy to heat his three-bedroom terraced home, in Abdy Avenue, Dovercourt.

He spent hours on the phone before supplier e.on admitted it was a mistake.

The 53-year-old said he nearly had an angina attack after he opened the £15,181 bill.

Mr Bartlett, who pays his gas on a pre-payment meter, said: “It’s ridiculous.

“I got very annoyed when I saw it, and then they had the nerve to say they would re-post my bill with the charges I apparently hadn’t paid.

“But I’m on a pre-payment meter, so I already pay for gas as I use it.

“ I suffer from angina and it nearly gave me an attack.

“I had to call the missus down at first to ask her what was going on.

“The chap at e.on was very annoyed, too, at the mistake and said it must have been a computer error.

“But, at the end of the day, whoever puts it in the computer makes the mistake, not the computer itself.”

E.on initially said it would send Mr Bartlett a new bill, detailing what he owed. Now it has told him it will waive the charges to reflect the stress caused.

Mr Bartlett added: “I’m going to frame the bill and put it on the wall. I can see the funny side now.”

Jonathan Smith, e.on spokesman, said: “Mr Bartlett transferred his account from e.on to British Gas and the new supplier supplied us with what is clearly an inaccurate reading.

“We queried the amount with British Gas and have a new one that would appear to be rather more accurate as he owed us around £40.

“We’d like to apologise for the confusion and hope Mr Bartlett is rather happier now that the issue has been sorted out.”