An Edinburgh mum has been threatened with legal action after her electricity bill shot up from around £300 a month to £2,000 leaving her struggling to cope.
Kerry Malcolm, 35, from Northfield, was already on a payment plan with EDF after falling behind with her payments, but was given a whopping £2,151.87 bill and told if she can't pay she will be taken to court.
The single mum-of-four is still paying off debt from Christmas 2021 and says she receives no support from any of her children's dads leaving her alone to juggle all the bills and feeling extremely stressed.
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Speaking to Edinburgh Live Kerry said: "It was shocking my electric bill went from £300 then got a new one that was £2,000. My kids need food and clothes I don't know what I would do if my electricity got cut.
"I suffer from mental health and I really don't know what I would do.
"My kids' dads aren't in their lives so I'm mum and dad. I'm trying my hardest to juggle everything I'm still paying off last year's Christmas. Just thinking about this Christmas, my head feels like it's gonna explode."
Kerry explained: "I'm on a dry metre so I used to pay between £30 to £40 per month, then they stopped sending bills and said I'm £250 in credit, but then they sent me a bill of around £1,000 then final went up to £2,000.
"I got help from Changeworks and they got to take 15 a week off my bill and I kept paying what I could but just a month ago it was down to £300 then I gave them a meter reading and it went back up to £2,000."
EDF explained Ms Malcolm has been paying small amounts towards her energy, however, it has not been enough to cover her usage.
In January 2023 EDF made the decision to apply a credit of £1,570 to support Ms Malcolm, leaving £303.78 to pay based on estimated usage.
Since receiving meter readings from Ms Malcom in February 2023, the company noticed she has used more than the estimated charges and now has an outstanding balance of £2,151.87.
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A spokesperson for EDF said: "We’re sorry to hear about the problems Ms Malcolm has been facing and we’re investigating this as a priority.
"We remain committed to helping as many customers as possible this winter, including providing debt relief and installing energy efficiency for those in fuel poverty.”
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