A couple were stunned to receive an energy bill for their one bedroom house - for £57,000.<br /><br />Katie Coyne, 60, and husband Richard, 64, were told they had a matter of weeks to pay the eye-watering British Gas bill.<br /><br />It said they had racked up the charge on their gas and electric in a single month - despite their entire annual estimate being just £2,150.<br /><br />Richard spend countless tea and lunch breaks trying to get through to a customer services agent - but didn't get through to anybody so kept having to hang up.<br /><br />The couple say they were scared to turn on anything electric in their home in Devizes, Wiltshire for weeks.<br /><br />But now after being approaches for comment, British Gas confirmed the bill was a mistake.<br /><br />Katie said: "It's completely crazy - I'm beyond livid.<br /><br />"They say they're sorry but that doesn't work anymore. It's just a joke.<br /><br />"We have a smart meter, so they should have accurate readings, but all our bills say they are estimates - it doesn't make sense.<br /><br />"We just pay them £180 a month because we think that's about right and we don't want to get into debt, but our bills don't make sense at all.<br /><br />"Sometimes they say we owe them and sometimes they say they owe us.<br /><br />"This makes you feel so small - like you don't count for anything."<br /><br />Katie, a retired cleaner and youth worker, and Richard, a machine operative on a building site, have rented their home from a housing association for 24 years.<br /><br />Central heating with a gas boiler was installed to replace their storage heaters three-and-a-half years ago.<br /><br />The couple have had various energy companies supply the property and switched to British Gas two years ago, and had a smart meter fitted.<br /><br />Their bills, for electricity and gas, ranged from £62 to £201 last year, they said.<br /><br />The meter was checked by an engineer two months ago and passed.<br /><br />The bill for £57,282.29p arrived on February 19.<br /><br />Katie said: "I opened it and did a double take: I thought 'you're having a laugh!'"<br /><br />Richard couldn't get through to an adviser on the phone, despite multiple attempts he says.<br /><br />The couple emailed the company CEO but heard nothing back.<br /><br />They have priority status with the energy provider because of Katie's health.<br /><br />She said: "It's impossible to speak to someone. They're just hiding behind their screens.<br /><br />"If we do get through they ask us to email and they say it will be sorted but it isn't.<br /><br />"We've made six or seven official complaints.<br /><br />"I've been at my wits end with this. I'm feeling really desperate about it.<br /><br />"And we deserve to be compensated for all the stress and lost lunch breaks.<br /><br />"We're getting through this because we have each other but I worry that it could happen to someone vulnerable and alone.<br /><br />"I'm just really angry that we're being ignored.<br /><br />"They don't seem to care about the impact on someone's mental state.<br /><br />"We have to watch every penny.<br /><br />"I just hope and pray that government and big corporations realise soon that they need people like us or everything will fold eventually."
