January 4, 2023 9.23 am This story is over 24 months old

Disabled woman’s heating still broken, as bill doubles for electric heaters

Problems have been going on for more than a month

A disabled Lincoln woman has seen her electricity bill double after weeks of heating problems.

The Lincolnite reported how Jo Tolley lost her heating and hot water in early December.

Despite repairs being carried out, she is still using electric heaters to keep her adapted bungalow warm.

Jo, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, now has her hot water restored, but is worried about how her bill has soared.

Platform Housing Group, which manages the property, has apologised and says another engineer has been booked to look at the problem.

Jo said: “The heating is interment, despite saying it’s always on – sometimes it’s ok and sometimes the house is freezing.

“I can’t afford to have the electric heaters on all the time with the amount that it’s costing.

“I’ve been told that the heating system might have gone into weather compensation made due it being off for so long.

Jo Tolley is still waiting for her heating to be properly restored

“My heating used to be around £2.50 per day, now it’s nearly £5. It shouldn’t cost £150 to heat a one-bedroom bungalow for a month.”

Jo first experienced the problems nearly five weeks ago on December 1.

Marion Duffy, Chief Operations Officer at Platform Housing Group said: “We are sorry to hear of our customer’s concerns; we can confirm an engineer has been booked for this week.”

She has made an official complaint to Robert Heath Heating over the way her problem has been handled, saying she had “never known anything like it.”

The company hasn’t responded to a request for comment.