Scottish Gas left me out in the cold

Feb 21 2008 By Alastair McNeill

A HAMILTON mum hit out at a utility company this week, accusing them of ignoring her calls about a faulty gas supply.

Christine Anderson (24) claimed she was without gas over Christmas and has had no heating since January 3, when emergency supplies ran out.

She said little had been done to address the problem, which a Scottish Gas technician had told her was due to a faulty meter.

Scottish Gas, however, insisted this week that they had been in touch with Ms Anderson on a number of occasions in a bid to resolve the matter.

The 24-year-old left her home at 19 Fairhill Place with her children Marc (6) and Ceejay (2) to live with her mother in Arden Court.

Ms Anderson pointed out that, with two children, she had no choice but to move from her cold house to her mother’s one-bedroom flat.

“I had been using electric heaters provided by the council. However, they were costing me a lot more money to run, so I moved in with my mum,” she said.

“We had no gas in the Fairhill house over Christmas. A technician came out just before New Year and he managed to get the supply working again.

“However, it ran out a few days later. He had told me the meter was faulty and that’s what I’ve been telling Scottish Gas.

“I’ve been calling them for ages. The call centre staff have said they will get someone to call me back but no-one has called.

“They’ve got my number and my mum’s number, but I haven’t heard anything from them.”

A Scottish Gas spokeswoman said this week: “We are sorry that Miss Anderson has been experiencing problems with her gas supply.

“We have been in touch with her a number of times since January this year.

“On each of these occasions we have taken steps to provide her with gas, and to remedy the problem with her, pending a meter exchange.”

The spokeswoman said the company had contacted Ms Anderson on February 15, when a refund covering the cost of replacement meter cards was provided.

“We have been back in touch with Miss Anderson and have apologised again for the problems,” she said.

“With her agreement, we have arranged for an emergency meter replacement to take place tomorrow (Wednesday) along with an automatic credit payment on her meter of £50.”