Published: December 24, 2007
Shocked Burnham-On-Sea couple receive £59million bill from HFC Bank!

Burnham-On-Sea lorry driver Colin Cawley had a shock when he opened up his post this week to find an unexpected bill from the bank for £59million!

The letter, from a Liverpool-based firm of solicitors called Weightmans, threatened Mr Cawley with court action if he did not pay £59,033,166.76 which he allegedly owed to HFC Bank.

The 44-year-old and his wife Fiona, who live with their two teenage sons in Burnham Road, were astounded by the "ludicrous" letter.

Mrs Cawley, a former catering manager, said this week: "My husband opened the letter and shouted at me to come and look at it. When I read it, my jaw fell to the floor - we just couldn't believe it. It's not every day you get a letter saying you owe £59m."

The Cawleys moved to Burnham in 2005 after leaving London to buy the resort's Cottage Cafe. This year they sold the cafe and their home in London to move to nearby Highbridge.

Mrs Cawley said: "When we sold the business and our house we paid off the majority of the debts. We did have a loan of £8,000 and a credit card with £3,000 on it with HFC Bank but these were paid off as far as we were aware by our solicitor when the sale went through. We have no idea where this debt has come from and it's not as if we're Flash Harrys living in a five-bedroom detached home and driving a Bentley."

"I drive a Renault Clio and shop at Asda. I have a very normal life. If we did have £59m in the bank we wouldn't be sitting in England in the cold!"

Mrs Cawley has contacted the solicitors who are working on behalf of HFC to claim back the money. "We laughed about it, because what else can you do? But the whole situation is ludicrous."

A spokesman for Weightmans Solicitors said: "Common sense indicates that there seems to be an administrative error." It is investigating further.