AN Alvington man is to get an apology – and a fiver as a ’goodwill gesture’ – after BT insisted he pay a bill for one penny.

The good news for Paul Freeman comes after the Review took up his case with the telecoms giant.

The saga began when Mr Freeman’s phone line was out for a fortnight over Christmas and New Year.

He said: “I contacted them and they said I could pay only part of the line rental as I didn’t have a line for a fortnight.

“The bill was £5.10 which I paid but it only registered as £5.09 so I got another bill for a penny from BT.

“I rang them again and asked them if they really wanted my to pay a penny and I was told I would have to.

“I couldn’t understand why they just couldn’t put it on the next bill.

“I wasn’t going to pay 50p for a stamp to send a cheque for a penny, so I went to the garage and used the PayPoint.

“They had a bit of trouble because they don’t usually have such small sums but we did it in the end.

“I’m not very happy with the way BT dealt with this.”

A BT spokesman said: “BT Customer Services have looked at Mr Freeman’s account and apologises for the bill discrepancy.

“We are sorry for the inconvenience caused to Mr Freeman and have credited his account with £5 as a gesture of goodwill.”