A grandmother was left shaking with worry after being sent an energy bill demanding more than £9,000 - despite her really only owing her energy supplier £59 . Margaret Corey , 72 , was sent a letter by British Gas claiming they were planning on taking the huge sum from her bank account within days . She was told she owed more than £8,000 for gas and over £1,000 for electricity - 150 times more than the amount she actually had to pay . Margaret Corey was left shocked after she received two bills from British Gas for a total of £9,000 . Mrs Corey , from Fulwood , Lancashire , said : 'It said I owed £8,047 for gas and another £1,259 for electricity and that it would be taken out of my account on March 9 . ' I was in total shock . For an OAP who lives on her own like me , it 's enough to make you ill. Luckily I have a good neighbour who I went to see . ' Mrs Corey said she 'could n't stop shaking ' after opening the letter , that outlined how her direct debit arrangement had changed after she 'd agreed to a new tariff . When she called British Gas to inquire about the amount , she was told her combined bill should actually be £59 . She said : 'The man I spoke to just said that it was a blip . He said that there 's quite a few , and its worrying that he was so calm about it . ' I 'm worried about other people who have got these mistakes and how they will feel . ' Mrs Corey said she feared the money would automatically be taken out of her account after getting the letter . She added : 'And what if people do n't check things like I do and British Gas try to take all that money out of their bank ? 'Not many people will have that kind of cash in their account , so the payment wo n't go through , and that could cause all kinds of long-lasting problems . ' A spokeswoman for British Gas said it was an isolated error . Leigh Francis said : 'When Mrs Corey contacted us about her energy tariff we set up her payment plan incorrectly . 'We 've now put this right and have apologised to Mrs Corey for the distress and inconvenience and offered her a gesture of goodwill . '
The giant set up grandmother 's suicide plan incorrectly on phone . She was then given a bill for £ 8,000 for gas and £ 1,000 for electricity . The year - old said she ' n't stop shaking after getting letter . She feared money would automatically be thrown out of her bank account . British Gas have now corrected the problem and apologised .