I had a telephone call from my neighbour, an elderly gentleman who my wife and I do a few errands for.

He informed us that his gas payment card had run out and he thought there was a fault.

He was informed by British Gas that there was not a fault.

It was because he was not using enough gas so they were charging him 35p a day surcharge (£2.45p a week).

What a rip off. He uses a card because he did not want to be hit with a large bill every quarter.

We are all being told: ‘Don’t waste energy.’ Now this gentleman is being punished for being frugal.

‘All in it together!’ Pull the other one.

RJ Metcalfe Staplefield Drive Brighton