Heating misery for pensioner

David White, 65, applied for a Warm Front grant at the beginning of this year because he was anxious about his 80 per month heating costs.

The result was that a gas pipe and meter were installed but they appear to be in the wrong place and David has yet to be connected by EDF.

Now the retired builder who lives in Brassey Road claims he has been without heating since May and has been informed he must wait until November 11.

He said: "I have had lots of people coming along looking at pipes and scratching their heads and going away again. But nobody seems to want to admit that the meter has been put in the wrong place or pay to have it altered.

"I am cold. I am miserable. I am fed up."

David decided to apply for a Warm Front grant because he was paying 80 per month on storage radiators and five electric heaters to keep his one-bedroom flat warm.

He was told by Warm Front in February that he qualified for a grant of 2,700 and landlady Jean Thomas put in a payment of 690 as requested.

A new supply pipe and meter was put in during the summer months but

David says this was not needed because he could have been connected to the gas pipe already serving the block of flats.

EDF said however the existing system was too far away from his property at the rear of the building and connecting him to it could affect supply for the rest of the block.

He commented: "As an ex-builder I know how simple these things can be - it could all have been sorted.

"All this hanging about has really been for a half-hour job.

"I am just living with heaters, electric fires which obviously cost a furtune to run...I hate to think what it is going to cost.

"I just feel I am being fobbed off all the time - it has been going on for so long. Everybody treats it as a joke."

He added: "I have spent so much time on the phone - trouble is, I have only got a mobile, and I actually spent 28 in one morning one day, and I got no further than when I started apart from being irate listening to music and recorded messages.

"Hopefully I will get the heating on before November 11 - but it is a long way off, and it is supposed to be getting colder."

His landlady contacted the Observer to say: "This is ridiculous - it's unbelieveable. It rattles around from department to department, and everybody is going to sort it out, but nobody ever does."

A Warm Front spokesman said: "Warm Front has installed a heating system for Mr White.

"Unfortunately this cannot be connected to the gas network because the meter, which was installed by Mr White's supplier, has been positioned incorrectly. Naturally we are working closely with the supplier and have requested that they move the meter as a matter of urgency. I understand the customer's landlady is also liaising with the energy supplier to arrange this.

"As soon as this is completed Warm Front will connect the system up. We cannot act until the meter has been re-positioned, but as a gesture of goodwill we have offered to provide Mr White some temporary heating."