A North Weald woman's battle with British Gas is a typical example of problems being experienced by 50,000 people, according to an energy watchdog.o

The Guardian recently reported on Barbara Carder's battle with British Gas after it landed her with a £700 bill over two years since she changed suppliers.

Since our report, Energywatch, the industry watchdog, has launched a campaign to get British Gas to sort out its billing problems after it found around 50,000 customers had not received a bill for over a year.

Energywatch said Mrs Carder, of Weald Bridge Road, was a typical example of British Gas's "shoddy billing procedures".

After Energywatch and the Guardian got involved, Mrs Carder achieved a 30 per cent reduction to her bill and was given a year to pay, an offer she has reluctantly accepted.

Mrs Carder is happy the massive delay in her case was taken up by Energywatch, but is still adamant she never used £700 worth of power in the first place.

She says she accepted the offer from British Gas, which will reduce her bill to £500, because she has no actual proof she did not use the electricity.

She said: "Something has gone wrong. I'm not satisfied because I don't know why. I'm waiting for Energywatch to come back to me. The whole thing needs investigation."

Jean Sharks, from Energywatch, has called on British Gas to clean up its billing process after revealing a total debt of £13m nationwide had not been billed for.

She said: "Mrs Carder's situation is a typical example of the inconvenience and distress that British Gas's shoddy billing procedures cause. Not to issue a final bill for two years is poor company service to say the least.

"Energywatch pressed for British Gas to allow Mrs Carder a decent amount of time to repay the bill and a significant discount as a goodwill payment.

"Like Mrs Carder we would urge other consumers who have fallen foul of British Gas's corporate apathy to contact Energywatch for help on 0845 9060708."