POWERLESS
Additional reporting by Jane Barrie Mum- of- four Tracey Kerr is out in the cold… as a rogue gas bill has halted the installation of her central heating.
The council were poised to replace her old electric system with gas back in May.
But Scottish Power refused to hook her up, claiming she was £ 3000 in arrears despite never having gas in the house.
Tracey, 35, said: “I am fed up trying to sort this out and I’m getting nowhere. There’s no way I owe the money as I don’t have gas. I never have.
“I can’t believe all these months have passed and it’s still not resolved.
“It’s worrying as winter is fast approaching and I need the new heating before the bad weather sets in.”
Tracey, a mum to Ciaran, 17, Lewis, 13, Reece, 12, and fiveyear- old Mirryn, had a gas meter f itted on May 31 in preparation for the heating.
She said: “Renfrewshire Council arranged this for me. It was a prepayment meter.
“The boiler and radiators were meant to be fitted soon afterwards. I knew it would make a big difference to us as a family.
“All I needed was a gas card to load up the meter and I was on my way.”
But she soon received a bill for £1877. Single mum Tracey called Scottish Power but they insisted the money was due.
She said: “I tried explaining that I didn’t have gas. The debt was supposed to relate to a three- month period from February 21 to May 24. It didn’t make any sense.”
But Scottish Power passed h pap w re bu sa