A PENSIONER has told of her distress after she and five neighbours were threatened with court action for unpaid bills that they had never received.Anglian Water's final demand letter asked Marjorie Adger, 81, to pay the overdue amount immediately or she would be taken to court.

A PENSIONER has told of her distress after she and five neighbours were threatened with court action for unpaid bills that they had never received.

Anglian Water's final demand letter asked Marjorie Adger, 81, to pay the overdue amount immediately or she would be taken to court. She had not been sent any requests for payment from the company since September and had paid that bill on time.

Mrs Adger, who has recently undergone heart surgery, said: "I just felt sick and so frightened. I always pay my bills when I get them and I was so worried when I opened this letter."

Five other residents living at the McClaren Court sheltered accommodation in Beccles also received the letters, despite not being sent the original requests for payment.

Mrs Adger telephoned Anglian Water in March when she became worried she had not received her quarterly bill. The company told her the bill was on its way, but the next thing she got from itwas the final demand.

It stated Mrs Adger owed £57.98 and warned if she did not pay up in full at once, she would be facing legal action and further costs of £50.50.

An Anglian Water spokesman, said: "We want to apologise for any inconvenience or distress that this has caused. We are looking into what has happened with the billing, but at the moment we do not know why the first bills were not received by some of our customers.

"The customers who have received the reminders in error should not worry. If they contact us, we will ensure they are sent the correct bill."

Anglian Water said its normal billing procedure was to send out a reminder notice about three weeks after the first bill was dispatched. If the bill was still not paid, a red reminder notice was sent out.