Shock bill could be last straw
Like the majority of the country I am already struggling with rising utility bills, so imagine my surprise when I received a letter on Wednesday from E.ON informing me of "changes to my direct debit".
They have reviewed my monthly payments and apparently I am not paying enough. My payments would now be £190 per month!
I immediately rung them, firstly apologising to the poor young girl who was on the receiving end of my wrath and inquired if E.ON was "having a laugh".
After checking my account she seemed very surprised I had received the letter as E.ON currently owes me £766.18.
She explained that my last bill was estimated so I promptly read my meters and now E.ON owe me £674.76. She also rectified the direct debit amount to £55 per month.
What would have been the outcome if this error had landed on the doorstep of an elderly or infirm person already struggling to pay for their heating?
Would it have been enough to push someone over the edge?
Ruth, Preston (full name and address supplied)

Any point in children meeting speeders?
As if the long-suffering motorist hasn't enough to put up with, now we have the spectacle of drivers being blackmailed into answering the questions of schoolchildren about alleged speeding. ('Kill your speed and talk to a child', Evening Post, October 8).
I'm sure the children brought all their experience of life into the discussion and no doubt the teacher at the Goosnargh school felt she had done a good day's work.
Just what these children learned on the day in question we will never know, but one thing is certain, they will have felt very self-important.
If the teacher would like to extend her charges' education still further, perhaps she would like to go out in the evening when she and the children can tell the street corner yobs where they are going wrong.
I can't see it happening.
Peter Brown, Penwortham, via email

Support charity for heart attack young
Tragically, hundreds of young people, many of whom are involved in the world of sport, die annually from sudden heart attacks.
As someone who has been fortunate to reach the peak of a professional sporting career, I felt privileged to have been invited to support the national charity Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) alongside David Walliams.
This week (October 11-19) has been designated CRY Awareness Week and we are paying tribute to the many young people who die every year from sudden death syndrome.
With a greater access to cardiac screening - especially for young people involved in sport at a
community level - we really
believe we can help to reduce the number of deaths from this often-hidden killer.
But we need the help of Government, leading sporting organisations and all those involved in sport at a grass-roots level.
For more information about the charity, the work it funds and how to become involved, please go online to www.c-r-y.org.uk
James Cracknell, Olympic Gold Medallist and CRY patron, via email

Council not dealing with local issues
It was interesting to read the South Ribble Conservative leaflet called Promises Made - Promises Kept.
Graffiti, which is only briefly mentioned, is a problem in the Moss Lane area of Leyland and while in some cases it is eventually cleaned, it isn't always and the council appears to do little if anything to deter those responsible.
The Conservatives also make reference to our local parks and their continued success. The parks are now closed at night, thanks to louts causing trouble, and not dealing with the issue is a complete failure of the Council's Community Safety Strategy.
There was a section dedicated to the RAWS campaign against the waste site in Farington.
As the former Chairman of RAWS, if the Conservatives really cared, they would have urged their party members on Lancashire County Council to vote against it.
Andy Farrell, via email

How clean is your community loo?
On average a person spends three years of their life visiting the "loo", or whatever you choose to call it; between six and eight times a day.
With this in mind, my company, which produces revolutionary wallboards which are designed to stop the spread of bacteria such as MRSA and E.coli, is launching a competition to find a toilet they can make the UK's cleanest.
The wall boards could really make a difference to a community, a struggling hospital or even a poor school.
If there is a toilet in your community which you think could benefit from becoming the UK's cleanest tell us where it is and why it deserves to win by Monday, November 20.
Email agtech@pmwcom.co.uk or call Samantha on 01403 783400.
Peter Greening, Agtech, via email

MP's view of public so out of touch
I was appalled at the comments made by a Labour minister who suggested that pensioners should borrow money against their property to insulate their homes.
This from a man on a salary of £93,800 per year whose mortgage, food and household expenses are all subsidised by the taxpayer.
Is it any wonder MPs are increasingly detested by the public?
TE Riley, Selkirk Drive, Walton-le-Dale

No proof for 'fairy story' of evolution
Darwin's theory has been around for almost 150 years old, yet not a single fact has been discovered to prove it true.
Evolutionists have yet to explain how a 'big bang' can bring about spring, summer, autumn and
winter.
Furthermore, molecular biologists now know that all living cells store programmed information. Information can only arise from an intelligent source, and cannot arise from inanimate matter.
Evolution will one day be ranked as the greatest deceit in the history of science.
In years to come there will be many a merry jest ridiculing the Darwinian fairy story for grown-ups.
John Utton, St James Gardens, Leyland

Pointless protesting against Darwin
Bill Mason (Letters, October 6) says that by apologising to Charles Darwin's family the Archbishop of Canterbury has made himself look "gormless".
Well, the Archbishop of Canterbury has always looked pretty gormless to me, but the top prize for gormlessness should go to all those who continue to maintain that Darwin was wrong.
John Prance, Penwortham, via email

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