News
Pensioner, aged 94, left without hot water or heating for weeks after smart meter fitting
EXCLUSIVE: Energy supplier SSE agrees to pay for wheelchair-bound Anita Grant's boiler after the JC intervenes
September 16, 2020 10:10
EXCLUSIVE: Energy supplier SSE agrees to pay for wheelchair-bound Anita Grant's boiler after the JC intervenes
September 16, 2020 10:10A frail, wheelchair-bound, 94-year-old Jewish pensioner was left without a functioning boiler in her home for three weeks after she agreed to allow energy supplier SSE Energy Services to install a new smart meter.
Brondesbury Park Synagogue member Anita Grant, who lives on her own and requires daily support from carers, had accepted an offer from SSE Energy Services to have new meter installed at her flat in Stanmore last month, despite suffering no major problems with her long-serving boiler.
But she was left devastated when the resulting work left her old boiler inoperable, leaving her without any hot water or heating.
A stunned Ms Grant was then told that that energy giant could only cover £500 of the £5,000 needed for her to buy a new boiler, make good the damage caused by the work already carried out, and have the new one installed.
This week, after the JC took up the issue with SSE Energy Services on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the company announced it had changed its mind and, as “a gesture of goodwill”, would now pick up the costs.
Her son Neil, who flew back from Ireland to try to resolve the boiler issue, thanked the JC for intervening.
But the television producer, who is also a member of the same north-west London shul as his mother, added: “I think it is appalling that the SSE did not do the decent thing in the first instance, showed no duty of care and was quite happy to leave my vulnerable 94-year-old mother without a boiler for weeks on end especially during Yomtov and into the winter months.”
Mr Grant explained how his mum’s boiler nightmare had begun after she agreed to have the smart meter installed in the kitchen of her flat on August 20 after booking an appointment three days earlier.
But she revealed that the SSE Energy Services engineer had got halfway through the job before he realised the 35-year-old boiler was too old for the meter to be compatible and too late for him to reverse the changes he had made.
SSE this week told the JC that it believed the smart meter installation was unrelated to the issue with the boiler. They claimed it could have broken down if the power supply was turned off and on again, causing a possible network issue.
But Mr Grant revealed that at no point when booking the appointment did SSE ask Ms Grant for details of the existing boiler – or how old it was.
SSE Energy Services next brought in an outside contractor who he claimed confirmed that the work should not have taken place.
The following day, Ms Grant’s son Neil said he raised the issue with SSE, but it took four hours on the telephone before he got to speak to somebody who could help.
Mr Grant, who was working in Ireland, was eventually informed that SSE accepted they had caused the issue and would cover reasonable costs in putting the matter right.
An email seen by the JC and sent to SSE Energy Services' Public Liability team by one of the company’s complaints managers confirmed: “We attended an appointment at the property to install a smart meter. Upon installation we did not confirm that the boiler was safe to use through a purge and relight and left the customer with no heating or hot water.
“The customer is a 94-year-old woman living on her own. As part of the complaint raised, we agreed to send out home services who confirmed that due to the age of the boiler upon installation the boiler has now broken, and the part required to fix the boiler is no longer available. A new boiler is now required.
“The customer is due to send an estimate across today for costing of a new boiler.Are you able to take this claim on and is there more information you require from myself to follow this up?”
Mr Grant also emailed the company with an estimate of £3,840 for the new boiler to be installed and advised bills for other costs would follow.
On September 1 he then emailed SSE to say “regrettably I have heard nothing back to resolve this situation. This is the twelfth day since your company left my mother without a working boiler.”
He added that “because of my duty of care to my mother, I have now decided to expedite matters without further delay.
“To that end I have commissioned the plumber to start the work from Monday. A deposit has been paid to enable him to buy the necessary parts.
“I have arranged to fly back to London on Sunday to look after my mother as she cannot be in the house whilst the works are underway.
“I will take before and after pictures as requested and will provide a further quote for making good works in due course. How your company pays for this is now a matter for SSE. I will simply present the bills for payment together with a claim for compensation. If these are not paid in full, I will revert to the Ombudsman service.”
On September 3, SSE Energy Services finally responded to say they would offer only “£500 towards your costs as a resolution”.
Furious Mr Grant announced he was rejecting the offer and also accused SSE of making factual inaccuracies in their assessment.
He arranged for work to begin on installing the new boiler on September 7 - a job that took four days to complete.
SSE Energy Services this week insisted an engineer’s role before they install a smart meter is to carry out a visual inspection of all gas appliances to make sure it is safe.
They said they do not advise customers on the status of the boiler, as the engineer is not responsible. The correct safety procedure was carried out before the installation.
SSE Energy Servicessaid that if a boiler stops working after a smart meter installation, their process is to contact our Home Services team (CORGI HomePlan) who arrange for an engineer to attend to try and resolve the issue.
An SSE Energy Services spokesperson added: “A routine part of the smart meter installation is to turn the power off to keep the engineer safe. Unfortunately, Mrs Grant’s boiler didn’t restart when the power was turned back on. Although the boiler was over 35 years old, we have decided to replace Mrs Grant’s boiler as a gesture of goodwill.”
