A DISABLED and partially-sighted pensioner has slammed a power company for wrongly billing him for almost £4,000 - then threatening to send round the bailiffs.

And John Macaulay, 67, claims the distress Npower are causing him and his wife, Kathleen, 60, has caused his partner to be prescribed anti-depressants.

Today power company watchdog energywatch condemned Npower and said the Burnley pensioner's case was just the tip of the iceberg.

And Burnley MP Peter Pike has also attacked the giant firm for wrongly heaping pressure on the couple.

But Npower has refused to speak about the problems it is causing the couple, claiming it would be in contravention of the Data Protection Act.

Mr Macaulay, who lives in Burdett Street, has been receiving bills from his electricity supplier Npower for nine months.

But the couple pay for their electricity on a card meter every week, which means they should not be receiving any bills at all. One of the bills, dated December 2003, was for a whopping £3,751 for a quarter.

Despite contacting the company on numerous occasions about the mistakes, the couple - who go to their local Spar shop, in Accrington Road, twice a week to put £10 of credit on their card - are still receiving bills.

In the latest incident, a bill for £62.76 dated August 23 arrived on Saturday.

Mr Macaulay, a former engineer who suffers mobility problems after a work accident 15 years ago, said the couple have been with Npower for five years. But when the bill arrived he thought it was a joke.

The father of three, and grandfather of eight, said: "I phoned Npower and all they said was we will cancel the account and send you a new card.

"But they kept sending the bills, and one letter said if we didn't pay within 14 days someone would come to the house.

"To me that is a threat. We are both pensioners and should not have to be put through this sort of thing.

"My wife became really upset and had to go to the doctor and she is now on anti-depressants. It is their fault my wife is like she is. It has frightened Kathleen to death."

Mr Macaulay, who was chairman of governors at the now closed Howard Street Nursery and Woodtop Primary Schools, and chairman of the Bradley ward Labour Party in the 1990s, contacted gas and electricity watchdog energywatch.

The pressure group has written to Npower demanding the situation is sorted out.

But Mr Macaulay said he just wants the company to accept liability for the mix-up.

He added: "I don't want anyone else having to go through the upset we have had to.

"I'm not bothered about money, I'm more bothered about them owning up and saying they are wrong."

Karl Brookes, from energywatch, said Npower have 10 working days in which they are obliged to respond saying if they accept culpability.

He said: "This is an all-too familiar tale of woe of the energy company inflicting misery on the customer.

"Only the incompetence of Npower makes this sort of nightmare true for far too many consumers, and they should concentrate on sorting their billing systems out."

Burnley MP Peter Pike also blasted Npower and said such actions put people under considerable pressure.

He added: "It's absolutely appalling that this couple are being billed by the company."

"I would suggest they drop me the items and I will pursue the matter for them."

Jennifer Corby, media relations officer for Npower, said the company refused to comment, claiming to do so would be in contravention of the Data Protection Act.

But Mr Brookes attacked the company for its stance, and said: "I am at a loss to explain why Npower won't explain their side of the story."