A DISTRAUGHT pensioner says a mobile phone firm has turned her life into a nightmare after threatening to call in debt collectors for money she claims she doesn’t owe.

Daphne Cairns, 71, got a contract with telecoms giant Vodafone last year. She pays £9 a month by direct debit.

But recently she started getting letters saying she owed the company money.

Mrs Cairns, of Charles Street, Colchester, said: “The last one said I owe £99.95.

“But the account number on the letter is totally different to my account number. I don’t owe this money – it’s nothing to do with me.”

Mrs Cairns is desperate after the latest letter threatened her with debt collectors.

She revealed: “It said if I don’t pay £99.95 in 14 days, they will put it in the hands of a debt collection agency and I could get a bad credit rating.

“They are threatening me. They are harassing me for money and I don’t need that at my age. I’m so worried I can’t eat or sleep. I just sit and cry all the time.”

Mrs Cairns says she has repeatedly contacted Vodafone in a bid to sort out the problem, but says the demands for cash keep on coming.

She said: “When they look at my account they say it is fully paid-up and yet I keep getting these letters – it’s driving me out of my mind.

“I keep phoning customer services and sending emails. I even wrote to the head honcho and said you’ve got to stop doing this to me.

“I don’t owe them a penny. They even say that when I go into the store. I just want it all sorted out so I can have peace of mind again.”

Vodafone told the Gazette it would look into the issue as a priority.