An exasperated couple have spent more than five years arguing with British Gas over their electricity supply.

Despite receiving hundreds of electricity bills, Darren and Kerry Colburn have not paid a penny since 2002 because they have no idea how much they owe.

The couple moved into their home in Ridge Close, Mile Oak, in 2000, and transferred their account to their new address.

Everything was fine for 18 months until they received a call from Virgin asking if they wanted to transfer their supply.

Mr Colburn, a 34-year-old car mechanic, said no but eight weeks later the couple received a letter welcoming them to Virgin.

When they spoke to British Gas about being transferred back they were told their meter was incompatible with the company's system and the £250 they had paid for bills over the past 18 months would be refunded.

They were also told they would be transferred back to their original supplier London Electric - a company they had never heard of.

Mr Colburn said: "We were told the meter was the wrong type which meant they could not predict bills accurately.

"We had never heard of London Electric and they had never heard of us.

"By this time it was 2003 and we had logged so many complaints with Energy Watch but they could not get any further than we could."

In August 2004, the couple, who have two children, received a letter from British Gas which said the company remained responsible for their electricity supply.

This was followed by an £800 bill which went from August 1999 - a year before they had moved into the property - to September 2004.

Mrs Colburn, 29, said they received bill after bill asking for anything from £234 to £1,500 and none of the figures were consistent. When a British Gas employee came to read the meter two months ago he told Mrs Colburn, a shop assistant, that he was reading it for Mr Blythe, the property's previous owner.

She said: "We have been pushed from pillar to post and have spoken to so many different people who say they will ring us back but never do.

"We wrote to the managing director but got a standard reply back and we have spent hours on the phone trying to sort it out. Our phone bill has probably gone up by £30 a month.

"My husband even offered them a one off payment of £500 to sort it out once and for all but they wouldn't take it.

"It has made me ill I have started having panic attacks brought on by the stress of not knowing what is going to come through the door. We don't know where to turn but we just want it resolved."

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