Tenant Dionne Moran was stunned when she received the bill.

Ms Moran, 28, and partner Wullie Paterson, 44, from Baillieston, received the bill after a broken light bulb in the stairwell of their five-flat block was fixed by factor Peverel Scotland.

The invoice was for £35 for "labour" and further cash for the cost of the bulb, making a total of £48.84.

Ms Moran said: "I read it twice and thought, 'That can't be right, there must be a misprint somewhere'.

"You don't mind paying a bill if it is reasonable, but £48.80 was not reasonable."

The couple, who bought their flat two years ago, contacted Peverel to question the bill.

Mr Paterson said: "I phoned the lady dealing with the property management.

"I said, 'I got a bill for £48 to change a light bulb' and she started to laugh, so I thought, 'That can't be right'."

But the company stuck by the original bill, claiming there had been no mistake.

Mr Paterson, who is a postman, added: "To change a bulb takes three minutes – and that's supposed to cost £50?

"All you want is a bit of fairness."

Ms Moran added: "If I charged somebody £50 to change a light bulb I would be on the front page of every paper being called a "rogue landlord" or "rogue whatever".

A spokeswoman from Peverel Scotland said: "A qualified electrician attended Breval Court to change a large lightbulb in a communal corridor.

"The cost of the work was £48.84, which included a reduced rate call-out charge.

"As instructed in the deeds set by the developer, the costs were passed on to residents."

The Evening Times has campaigned against property management factors who make excessive charges.

Indeed, when we began our campaign back in February 2008 our first two pages highlighted the rip-off charges some companies were making for ... fitting lightbulbs.

City residents were having to pay £44 for having bulbs replaced.

Our campaign has been highlighted and praised in the Scottish Parliament and helped bring about changes in legislation.

The Property Factors (Scotland) Act, which is due to come into force on October 1, will put in place a mediation process that owners can access to query costs.

matty.sutton@ eveningtimes.co.uk