Gas was estimated and charged me over £400 while I was sectioned?!

mousey

My meter has been broken (it was finally fixed after a year of me complaining to the company about it being broken and it is now a smart meter). So I couldn’t provide gas readings.

They estimated me a bill of £430+ for October to January, the entirety of this time I spent sectioned in psychiatric hospital with the boiler off.

I’ve sent the company evidence of me being in hospital but they said they can’t tell me if they will refund me until they get readings from the gas meter - I have now emailed them saying that I need to get it sorted, basically, since the meter is now fixed. I can’t turn on my heating. I turn on the hot water once a week to wash myself. I am paying over £100 a month and I literally can’t afford to live like a normal person… this is more of a vent than a question but surely they can’t keep this charge in place when I have provided them with proof I was in hospital for 3 months?

Adrian_Scope

Hi @mousey,

I'm certainly no expert on this topic, but if you've got accurate records of the time you were in hospital and when your meter was broken it seems like you're at least doing the right things to me. A priority is probably getting a meter reading complete so that your future bills are at least accurate.

Also, while emailing them with proof is a great first step in the process, it would be really wise to keep the pressure up and be really clear about what the issues are be really clear about what the issues are and if they don't help, you could try contacting the Energy Ombudsman for assistance.