IT never ceases to amaze me where this column gets to.

Following an article two weeks ago in which I reported that a 76-years-old Atherton couple claimed they had been harassed for six weeks by British Gas canvassers, the article somehow ended up on the desk of a BG manager in Manchester.

As a result John Jessup at Centrica sent me the following statement:: "We're sorry that the correspondents feel they have been harassed. We know that we have called at the house recently but can't find any evidence that our sales teams called more than once. It would not make any sense for them to repeatedly re-visit a customer who wasn't interested in switching to us, as they could be spending the same time calling on someone who was interested, and earning themselves commission for a successful sale.

"It may be that other companies called as well and, for whatever reason, they were believed to be British Gas. We are writing to the couple to confirm that we will not be calling at the door again.

"We do all we can to ensure that customers know that any of our people calling really is from British Gas. Our name and logo is clear on all their uniforms, they all carry large print ID cards and we offer a phone service so that any householder can check the caller is genuine.

"We also contact customers after they have signed contracts on their doorstep to ensure that they are happy. In addition we have worked with Help the Aged on special procedures to offer older and disabled customers further reassurance about face-to-face sales activity.

"We have no wish or need to pester people who are simply not interested in our services."

Thank you BG.