A DISABLED woman says her electricity was cut off three times by British Gas because of an error – and it stressed her out so much she ended up in hospital.
Sarah Ambrose, 57, claims she was left without power on three occasions this month, leaving her forced wash in icy cold water.
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The severely disabled woman says the “stress and trauma” of the situation even saw her rushed to hospital, where she had to be monitored for several hours.
The power cuts were understood to be linked to Sarah’s smart meter – which was “experiencing intermittent communication faults”, the energy firm said.
She said she had repetitively requested to be reverted to an older style pre-payment machine.
That request was fulfilled by British Gas on Monday, which should solve the power cut issues.
The company also apologised to Sarah, but she is still feeling shaken.
The London woman claims she had been having issues with the company, and paying her bill, since she signed up with them in March.
She said: “Because of all these British Gas things, these last few months I’m getting between three and seven chest pains a day.
“Last week I ended up in hospital with severe chest pains, and on Monday it happened again.
“The stress and anxiety it’s causing me is huge.”
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Sarah claims she recently spent several hours in hospital and was given an ECG to monitor the severity and frequency of her chest pains, “which was very bad… because of all the stress and anxiety I’ve been under”.
The issues were said to be caused by anxiety, rather than a physical issue.
Sarah said she was first left without electricity three weeks ago, then again last Wednesday, and again on Monday just been.
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SWITCHING energy providers can sound like a hassle – but fortunately it’s pretty straight forward to change supplier – and save lots of cash.
Shop around – If you’re on an SVT deal you are likely throwing away up to £250 a year. Use a comparion site such as MoneySuperMarket.com, uSwitch or EnergyHelpline.com to see what deals are available to you.
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Switch – When you’ve found one, all you have to do is contact the new supplier.
It helps to have the following information – which you can find on your bill – to hand to give the new supplier.
- Your postcode
- Name of your existing supplier
- Name of your existing deal and how much you pay
- An up-to-date meter reading
It will then notify your current supplier and begin the switch.
It should take no longer than three weeks to complete the switch and your supply won’t be interrupted in that time.
She said on Monday she had no power for more than six hours, and had to be bathed in freezing cold water.
Sarah – who suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndromes – has bowel and bladder issues and a significantly damaged spinal cord.
She said: “It’s disgraceful.”
British Gas admitted the smart meters the company had provided for Sarah were “experiencing intermittent communication faults”.
The stress and anxiety it’s causing me is huge.
Sarah Ambrose
The energy company said this could be due to signalling problems or due to the meters or hub being faulty.
British Gas confirmed it swapped Sarah’s gas and electricity meters to “old style” top up meters on Monday, which should resolve her power outages.
The company said it has been in “constant contact” with Sarah, but apologised for the ongoing issues with her energy supply.
A British Gas Spokesperson said: ‘”We have replaced Mrs Ambrose’s Smart Meters with Top Up Meters.
“We have said sorry to Mrs Ambrose for not resolving this sooner and continue to engage with her.”
The Sun Online contacted British Gas for further comment on the matter.
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Smart metres came under fire earlier this week too, after a customer was left furious over a “sneaky” £179 bill charge.
The Brit discovered his PayG prepayment meter was faulty, so called British Gas for help.
