A power company which kept charging a Glasgow homeowner for electricity after her house was destroyed by fire has written off the debt – thanks to the Evening Times.

Marie Ferguson’s flat in the west end was burned out in March last year but EDF Energy continued to demand money.

When she refused to pay, a debt collection company threatened to break down the door of the property and cut the power supply.

READ MORE: Energy firm bills homeowner after Glasgow flat is destroyed by fire

But the flat in Ripon Drive was gutted in the blaze on March 1 last year - which is thought to have been caused by an electrical fault.

Two women and three girls were treated at the scene by paramedics and Ms Ferguson’s son – who was in the flat when the fire took hold - suffered shock.

Ms Ferguson, 58, said: “He was just standing there in silence, staring into space when I got there. It was like a scene from the television programme Casualty. I could not believe it. I was absolutely stunned.

Glasgow Times:

“Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.”

Ms Ferguson, who was recovering from breast cancer at the time, said her subsequent battle with EDF Energy affected her health.

“The constant stream of communications from EDF – including the threat by a debt collection agency to break down the door of my burnt down property – have compounded that stress,” she said.

READ MORE: Energy firm bills homeowner after Glasgow flat is destroyed by fire

“I have spent countless hours dealing with EDF.”

The Evening Times contacted EDF on her behalf and a spokeswoman for the energy company initially offered to remove charges which she said “were applied in error while there was no meter at the property”.

But they have since been in touch with Ms Ferguson again and offered to waive all charges and put her on a lower monthly rate.

Ms Ferguson said: “A customer service individual from EDF contacted me and amongst other things, said “they have decided to write off their bill due to the fact that it's not possible to calculate accurate figures”. They have also taken the circumstances of the fire into account.

“I have also been put onto a new tariff - unbelievably £8 per month - which will undoubtedly change slightly from one month to the next, but I'm very happy with this.

“However, it does make you wonder why they couldn't have done something months ago. It is also rather worrying to think that there must be scores of people out there who might have been in a similar position to mine, but felt they couldn't fight a David and Goliath battle against one of the market leaders.

READ MORE: Energy firm bills homeowner after Glasgow flat is destroyed by fire

“I have made a wonderful recovery from my cancer battle, but imagine if you were very elderly or extremely ill or not up to the challenge - it would be almost impossible to challenge this company.

“I am sure the prompt intervention by the Evening Times made them come around in the end.”

A spokeswoman for EDF said: “We are pleased that we have been able to resolve the complaint to the customer’s satisfaction.”