AN elderly woman charged £92 for a council workman to change the battery in her smoke alarm is to receive a refund.

The bill for the five-minute job consisted of a £25 an hour charge at time and a half, based on a two-hour minimum fee, and administration costs.

The 87-year-old Taunton woman, who does not wish to be named, pulled her red Deane Helpline cord to alert Taunton Deane Council’s DLO when her alarm started beeping in the evening.

Her son said: “They offered to send a workman out.

“He took five minutes to change the battery, which she provided, and test the alarm.

“Later she received a bill for £92 – she hadn’t been warned she’d be expected to pay a sum as high as this.”

A Taunton Deane Council spokeswoman said she was unable to comment on individual cases, but Deane Helpline operators would respond to calls for assistance at any time.

She said Deane DLO charges were in line with those of similar private sector businesses.

She added: “Callers are now notified that a charge will apply.

“In the case of a caller not being notified, the council will look into the circumstances and arrange a refund if appropriate - this is being implemented in a case that’s been brought to our attention.

“It must be stressed that in providing services to the private sector, the DLO has to operate as a business in the interests of local council tax payers.”