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Robert Williamson with neighbour Mary Sadler and the gifts sent by British Gas chiefs to apologise for the great-grandfather’s inconvenience |
Victory for pensioner who took on British Gas over cash he didn’t owe
Great-grandfather given gifts and compensation after protests at High Court and firm’s HQ
A BATTLING pensioner who led a one-man protest outside the High Court for six weeks has won a remarkable victory in his campaign for compensation from British Gas.
Robert Williamson, 79, a great-grandfather from Archway, vowed to remain outside the building in the Strand until the firm agreed to pay up for “three years of bureaucratic blundering” over money he didn’t owe.
But when that didn’t work he moved his protest and home-made banners to the firm’s head office in Staines in Middlesex. Three days later the company caved in.
This week British Gas offered Mr Williamson a “substantial” sum in compensation, and a new cooker of his choice worth £300.
On top of it all the company delivered a bouquet of flowers and a parcel of groceries for Mr Williamson’s next-door neighbour and friend Mary Sadler who has cooked for him while he was without a stove for three years.
A delighted Mr Williamson, who lives in Girdlestone Walk, said he hoped his battle would inspire others and thanked the Islington Tribune for highlighting his campaign.
The breakthrough in his battle came on the fourth day of his protest outside British Gas HQ where motorists had been hooting in support.
Police were initially called, but left after ensuring that Mr Williamson’s demonstration was peaceful.
He was then invited inside by legal officers from the company who sat down with him to discuss his case.
Mr Williamson said: “I told them I would not give up my fight. If they didn’t settle I’d take my protest to their parent company Centrica in Windsor and their chief executive Sam Laidlaw.”
A self-employed electrician for 53 years until he retired, Mr Williamson aimed to shame the company – who made £571million profit last year while raising prices by 15 per cent – with his protest banner. Over a period of three years British Gas had threatened widower Mr Williamson with bailiffs and twice took him to court, both times unsuccessfully, after claiming he had used an estimated £148 worth gas without paying for it.
On one occasion a gasman tried to read the meter at Mr Williamson’s maisonette and couldn’t get in. Mr Williamson was then fined £50 which he refused to pay. He had spent the day in Whittington Hospital with his son Alex, 53, who was dying from liver disease.
Finally, this year, an independent verifier checked his meter and confirmed that “not a penny” of gas had been used.
Mr Williamson had always argued that he had personally switched the gas off at the mains following a suspected oven leak in 2005. British Gas finally apologised in a letter in June this year and admitted “poor handling” of the account and “regret” that they caused Mr Williamson “such anxiety”.
But the company was only prepared to offer him a “derisory” £150 compensation in “recognition of the difficulties we caused you at this difficult time”.
Mr Williamson added: “I told them that £150 wouldn’t compensate for all the threats and letters, my mobile phone calls, and the hours of my time wasted dealing with this issue.
“I switched off my gas in 2005 and have not used it since. I get by on electric heaters, a microwave oven, and the kindness of my neighbour, Mary.”
British Gas spokeswoman for customer relations Carolyn Hopper, in a letter finalising the compensation package, said: “Please be assured we are very keen to bring this to a close and we do not wish you to compromise your health by continuing to remain outside our office.” |
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