Isn't there anyone at British Gas who can spell? Wartime heroine, 92, is appalled to receive letter riddled with gibberish and more than THIRTY mistakes

  • Dorothy Edwards appalled to receive letter from British Gas riddled with errors
  • The correspondence had spelling mistakes and incomprehensible sentences
  • Was a reply to son Philip querying expected bill of around £1,300 on her behalf
  • British gas said letter sent to Mrs Edwards 'wasn't up to the standards we expect'

By Sam Tonkin For Mailonline

Published: 11:56 EDT, 5 April 2017 | Updated: 13:03 EDT, 5 April 2017

A 92-year-old wartime heroine was appalled to receive a letter from British Gas that was riddled with spelling mistakes and incomprehensible sentences.

Dorothy Edwards opened the correspondence to find it filled with gibberish and more than 30 mistakes.

It was sent to the pensioner after her son Philip queried an expected bill of around £1,300 on her behalf.

Most of the errors were spelling mistakes but often sentences made no sense or were broken up by confusing paragraphs mid-way through a sentence. 

Dorothy Edwards opened a letter from British Gas to find it filled with more than 30 mistakes

Dorothy Edwards opened a letter from British Gas to find it filled with more than 30 mistakes

One sentence, which had ten mistakes alone, reads: 'looked into your account furtheer regarding your complaint, and have found theat when thee account was billed on thee 17the august 2016 for £899.15 thee payment amounts had already been scheduled to decrease on thee 19the August [sic].'

Another line says: 'Withe theis been said and thee correct actions we have taken to inform you and staying withein thee direct debit guarantee guidelines, Unfortunately at theis time we wouldn't be compensating £250.00 to thee account which you confirmed to myself [sic].'

Ms Edwards' family said the pensioner, from Stannington, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, set up a direct debit in 2014 to pay her bills.

At first British Gas took £93.50 per month, then later decreased this to £37.13 in line with her usage.

It was sent to the pensioner (pictured after her son Philip queried an expected bill of around £1,300 on her behalf

It was sent to the pensioner (pictured after her son Philip queried an expected bill of around £1,300 on her behalf

But the family say that suddenly the charge shot up and she was shocked to receive a bill for nearly £900.

This later mounted up to almost £1,300, leading the family to query what was happening.

Ms Edwards' son described the letter as 'a triumph of Pidgin English'.

The pensioner survived German bullets during the Second World War in an incident when her airfield was strafed by a raiding German fighter.

Her prompt action in urging her Women's Auxiliary Air Force comrades to shelter under a nearby tree probably saved lives, her family said.

British Gas said the letter sent to Mrs Edwards 'wasn't up to the standards we expect in our customer communications'.

A spokesman for the firm said: 'We're very sorry for the confusing letter we sent Mrs Edwards' son.

'We normally check letters to customers carefully, but on this occasion errors were missed.'

Ms Edwards survived German bullets during the Second World War when her airfield was strafed by a raiding German plane. She is pictured right in 1942 after joining the RAF

Ms Edwards survived German bullets during the Second World War when her airfield was strafed by a raiding German plane. She is pictured right in 1942 after joining the RAF

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