A STRESSED tenant says she has been bombarded with threats after she wrongly received an unpaid electricity bill.

Phlebotomist Sarah Reese, 38, moved into her current house in Elizabeth Close, Colchester, in 2012, shortly after the death of her six-week-old son.

Within a few months of settling in, Sarah started to receive letters from Scottish Power claiming she had an outstanding bill of more than £3,500 and would face court action if she failed to pay it.

Convinced this was not a bill she had racked up, Sarah investigated and discovered that two electric meters were registered to the property instead of just the one the house actually has.

Following a letter sent by MP Will Quince, Scottish Power eventually apologised for the inconvenience, assured Sarah the balance wouldn’t have to be settled by her and that the second meter had been “de-energised”.

But despite their promises, Sarah has continued to receive letters from the electricity provider threatening to take her to court.

Ms Reese said: “The letters just keep coming and coming every week saying I owe them £3,600.

“It is driving me insane and I don’t where to turn any more because it isn’t being sorted out.

“Scottish Power isn’t even my supplier, so we are just going round and round in circles.”

In a recent letter sent to Ms Rees, who lives in the property with her partner and three daughters, Scottish Power also suggested a debt collector would be informed of the situation.

She is now worried an unannounced visit from bailiffs could severely affect her autistic daughter.

She said: “All this is really hard to deal with because one of my daughters is autistic and I am worried that if the debt collectors coming knocking, it could be really stressful for her.

“We have had a tough time lately and my autistic daughter has had to come out of school.”

Scottish Power says it has now taken action to prevent any further bills being sent to Ms Reese and, along with an apology, will send her a £250 token of goodwill.

A spokesman said: “We sincerely apologise to Ms Reese for the problems she has experienced and the inconvenience this matter has caused.

“The problem arose due to a duplicate MPAN number being registered to her address. We closed this account but unfortunately it was not followed through - this has now been done.

“A block has been put on anything further going to Ms Reese.”