A KNAPHILL couple say they have had to turn to charities, including food banks, because their energy supplier wrongly took £739 out of their gas and electricity account.

Gary Jackman, who is paraplegic and uses a wheelchair, and his wife Sandy, said their account with OVO, formerly SSE, was £899 in credit earlier this year after they had been paying a fixed sum of £116 a month for some time.

OVO then installed a Smartmeter and, a few months later, the Jackmans asked for the credit balance to be sent to them but was told this was not possible. They discovered their credit had now reduced to £160.

“We can’t have used all that energy,” Gary said.

“We’re very strict; we turn lights off when we’re not using them.”

The couple are in receipt of state benefits of £189 every two weeks. Gary also gets a Personal Independence Payment because of his disability.

“We’re on a very strict budget,” he said.

Gary has approached OVO several times without success but had one conversation in which he was told there had been a fault with the meter-reading software and a £140 goodwill payment would be made.

However, he says OVO have not addressed the £739 that was taken from their account.

“We’ve lost all that money and I think that is totally wrong. These companies know that normal people haven’t got the money to take them to court,” he said.

Gary said the problems are causing a lot of stress and upset to him and Sandy, who is in remission from cancer.

A spokesman for OVO Energy said the company is looking into the Jackman's case to see how it can resolve their complaint.

The couple have been married for 10 years and met at St Peter’s Hospital.

Sandy was a carer and had just been told the person she was looking after was terminally ill. She was standing outside when Gary arrived to have a cigarette.

“She was very upset. We started chatting and just clicked. Before she went back in she was smiling.

 “We fell in love at St Peter’s and it grew from there. We got married.

“She’s my soul partner and I love her so much. I hate to see her upset and will do anything I can to make her happy.”