Couple gets Rs 11 lakh gas bill after not paying for 18 years

The couple did their best to try and pay the gas bill, but could not do so. As a result, they were hit by the colossal bill. (Representational Image).

A couple in the United Kingdom received the shock of their life recently when they received a gas bill of Rs 11 lakh after not knowing how to pay the amount since 2005, a report in The Metro said.

Jo Woodley, 45 and Lee Haynes, 44, moved into their new house in Tamworth, Staffordshire in 2005 and in March, received a letter from the local gas distributors-Cadent-saying they wished to inspect the property. In June, the distributors sent a gas bill of Rs 11 lakh to them.

After moving into the house, the couple found out the source of every bill and made the payment accordingly. However, the gas supply source to their house remained a question mark and hence, the bill had gone unpaid.

"I just don't understand. The 1986 Gas Act says they can recover costs if I’m at fault but I'm not. We just got on with living there-like we were told to. I did everything I could. I didn’t want to just let the problem go. It would be fair enough to bill us if I hadn’t tried, but they can’t really expect me to keep trying for 18 years," Haynes said.

The couple did their best to try and pay the amount, but could not do so. As a result, they were hit by the colossal bill. "It was very strange. After a few months we had bills for everything but not gas. I was worried about suddenly getting a big bill-so I tried really hard to find out who was supplying our gas. It's unbelievable-my worst fears about this have now come true," Haynes added.