The earliest someone from British Gas can come to my property to help me is the 20^th May. That is 46 days away. That was a priority emergency appointment, for someone with mental health issues, who has no access to electricity. I hate to find out what a none emergency electricity appointment is.

I don't even know if the appointment is going to be useful. I have been told several times by British Gas that I can't have smart meters, because the electricity meter is on the ground floor and my maisonette is on the first floor, but the lady on the phone, today, said that the only way to be on a standard/credit meter is to have smart meters. On the 20^th May, someone is supposed to be coming out to install pre-payment smart meters. Then after that, I can phone back up to book for someone to come out and install standard/credit smart meters. And that is only going to happen if the smart meters work. Apparently the gas and electricity meters cannot be further than five meters apart from one another, but mine are.

I have a feeling that I will be spending my birthday crying.


Update: Okay, I don't think the appointment is real. I haven't received a confirmation text message or an email. Now I'm going to have to wait until next week on Friday to phone up again. Oh no, I just realised, I can't. My mum is cancelling the tv, broadband and phone line on Monday, as we can't afford to be with any company. I'm really not sure what to do now. I guess I could use my computer, at work, during my 20-30 minute lunch break, to see if someone on the British Gas online chat could confirm it for me. I don't have any phone signal at work, nor do I have many minutes on my contract, so I can't phone them on my lunch break. I always have to wait 45 minutes to get through too. Why is getting electricity so complicated?

British Gas have said that there is no possible way for me to have electricity, unless I contact a DNO and pay to have the electricity meter moved. I apparently can’t have smart meters, because the electricity meter is on the ground floor, behind a locked box, and my gas meter is on the first floor, in my maisonette. I cannot reach the gas meter because it is behind where the washing machine is plumbed into. I cannot access the electricity meter, because it is behind a locked communal door. I asked how the previous person had electricity and they tell me to use the gas card and the electricity key in the meters. One) I can’t access either of the meters and two) the gas card and the electricity key and both of the meters have hundreds of pounds of debt on them. I’m not paying the previous owners debt. I’m not allowed a direct debit meter, because I do not have two children under the age of two years old, nor do I care full time for an elderly relative that is over 75 years old, nor am I diabetic and have medication in the fridge. I just want electricity. I can work around not having gas, I just want electricity.