Everyone dreads the thought of a broken boiler and chilly radiators over the winter months, especially in regions where the winter really can bite, such as Scotland – but the bill for repairing a broken boiler can be just as scary.

Such a bill has led to red faces for British Gas this week, after a Scottish pensioner accused the company for over-charging its customers for boiler and radiator parts. Glaswegian Robert Halbert, an octogenarian former service manager for Hoover, found that the parts he was charged £390.16 for were some three times cheaper at DIY retailer B&Q.

In a letter of complaint to Scottish Gas – an arm of British Gas – he also accused the firm of “creative pricing,” noting that it quoted for installation work on his new boiler by merging parts and labour costs. Mr Halbert charged that this made it impossible to discover precisely what he was paying for.

After a great deal of wrangling with the company, Mr Halbert has been partially reimbursed by British Gas.