A BLUNDERING power company left a Redditch mum without electricity for two days and then wired her replacement meter up incorrectly.
Seirol Brookes, a customer with Boost, Ovo Energy’s pay as you go brand, says staff failed to keep appointments, broke promises to call her, and failed to answer their emergency call out line on Sunday.
The mum of one’s nightmare began last Thursday when she ran out of electricity.
She put £10 on her pay as you go key but it failed to register when she put it in her meter.
She contacted Ovo who sent her on a trek to various shops none of which had a replacement key before suggesting that Seirol, who doesn’t drive and has a four year old son, goes to Bromsgrove to pick one up, which she said was impossible.
It was 1pm by this time and Ovo promised to send an engineer out ‘in three to four hours’ said Seirol.
“By 6pm, with the temperature plummeting I was sitting in the pitch black with my son and no heating.
“I rang the out of hours at 7pm and they said the message hadn’t been passed on and no one was coming out.”
She immediately complained and by 10pm an engineer had arrived to put some credit on her meter.
On Friday another engineer arrived to fit a new meter and the following day a new key arrived, but when she went to use it on Sunday the key didn’t register with the new meter.
“I couldn’t believe it – it was absolutely ridiculous,” said Seirol.
She couldn’t get through to Ovo at all on Sunday and spent another night in darkness and without heating in her town centre flat.
“We were in the cold and dark, I couldn’t cook, couldn’t do anything.
Their service wasn’t just bad it was non-existent,” said Seirol.
Worse was to follow.
On Monday another engineer came out to fit another new meter and says, Seirol he was horrified by what he saw.
“It turns out the other man had wired the meter up wrong,” she said.
“He had to cover his face with a mask and put on rubber gloves to fix it – I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
The engineer talked her through what he was doing and put £28 credit on the meter.
In addition Ovo Energy’s Boost put a further £50 on as an apology.
“The engineer it would be easier if I moved to a ‘smart’ meter, but no way, I’m switching suppliers after this,” said Seirol.
A spokesperson for Boost said: “We’re very sorry that this weekend, Ms Brookes did not experience the high level of customer service that we usually pride ourselves on.
“As a gesture of goodwill we have compensated her account for the inconvenie
