A mum said her family is living in an "icebox" after her gas went off.
Deborah Walker, from Southport, had entered emergency and friendly credit over the weekend before the gas went off on Monday, December 12. After attempting to top up the meter numerous times with £35, Deborah was then shown an error message.
She claims she contacted her energy company Utilita on numerous occasions over Monday and Tuesday but struggled to get through and has now been 48 hours without gas. The 27-year-old said her and her children, Cayden, four and Dayton, one, have been left "freezing" and "wearing coats" inside to keep warm.
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Deborah said both her children have recently been in hospital with a viral infection and one of them is still recovering.
Speaking to the ECHO, she said: “I am upset and stressed. I am more worried about my kids. My house is like an icebox and I can’t do anything about it, I can’t help them.”
Deborah, 27, claims she received a phone call off the energy company on Tuesday night who said someone would be sent to look at the meter within three hours, however she said no one arrived.
She told the ECHO: "They called me late night just before I went to work and then someone else called me to say they would be out within three hours to get the gas back on. I said 'that's perfect' and waited up until about 12.30am, but no one come.
"They've just told me then [Wednesday] on the phone it is because someone's coming out between 9am and 2pm or something. But I said to them 'you told me last night someone would be coming out in the three hours'. It was like minus three or four."
Deborah said she is "so stressed" about the situation and unhappy with the service, she added: "It's so cold here now, I have had to borrow a heater for the living room just to keep warm and it's costing loads to keep it warm.
"No one came out last night. I waited up and waited up for no one to come. We even slept on the couch last night as it was the warmest room."
A spokesperson for Utilita said: “We have every sympathy with Ms Walker and the millions of households who are struggling to afford energy during the cold snap we are experiencing. Interest-free financial assistance is available for our customers; however, Ms Walker didn’t request any support on this occasion.
“As a result of what we believe to be a user error, Ms Walker’s gas meter is currently inactive, and we have committed to sending out an engineer to investigate what has caused this soon as possible. The way we prioritise engineer visits is based on risk - as Ms Walker has electricity and is using electric heaters, other customers who do not have heat have been prioritised. An engineer is visiting Ms Walker today.”
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