As is common in this crazy world, I pay for my electricity to British Gas who don't supply it and for my gas to Southern Electric who don't supply that either. For all I know, my water comes in through the telephone wires, but what the Hey!

Any road, despite my constant grumpy ranting and raving, I do recognise good service when I (if rarely) come across it.

One such occasion occurred early last week. I received my quarterly gas bill from Southern Electric. The bill was very easy to understand and stated that my account was £470 in credit.

Horrified that my monthly payments were obviously way too high, I was considering my approach to Southern Electric to obtain a refund and have the payments decreased. Bitter experience with other suppliers and large companies lead me to expect the usual frustrating fight with phone calls, letters, emails, threats of court action, ombudsmen etc.

The next day, before I could set the ball rolling, I received another very polite letter from Southern Electric to say they had noticed I was paying too much for the gas I use and had cut my monthly direct debit by half.

I was pleasantly surprised, but thought what about the £470 of MY money sitting in their bank, and should I phone and ask for at least £300 back.

The very next day I received yet another letter pointing out that they would soon be refunding £470 directly to my bank. The FULL AMOUNT I was in credit for. When I checked the bank account later that day I was delighted to find the £470 ALREADY THERE!!

Now that's what I call GOOD SERVICE. Full marks to Southern Electric for being honest, straightforward and competent. It's a pity the same can't be said for countless other large companies, whose customer service is nothing short of deplorable.