After Leanne’s* energy supplier went bust, her account was taken over by a new supplier who told her that she was £19,000 in debt. Leanne knew this couldn’t be possible as she had never been in debt with her previous supplier, but she was afraid to turn on her heating in case it made things worse.

Leanne was referred to our Warm & Safe Wiltshire advice service by Age UK.

We visited Leanne to provide in-person support

Our caseworker visited Leanne in her home and they called her new supplier together. The supplier confirmed there had been a glitch in the system but that her smart meter was now sending the correct readings. They confirmed that she didn’t owe any money and that her account was in credit.

During the home visit, our caseworker noticed that some of Leanne’s old night storage heaters weren’t working. At this point, Leanne’s husband was struggling with his mental health and didn’t want to request any help to upgrade their heating system.

Leanne was struggling with living alone

Some months later, Leanne contacted our advice line again and told us that her partner had passed away. She was now living alone, struggling to stay warm on her state pension income, and still had heaters that weren’t working. Our advisor referred her via the ECO4 scheme and Leanne was approved to have new night storage heaters and solar PV panels installed. Our advisor secured Leanne £300 in shopping vouchers to help her in the meantime.

Leanne now has four new high retention night storage heaters, and is awaiting installation of her solar panels. Our advisor also provided her with a Smart Energy Action Plan so that she could make the most of her new technologies.

“Exactly what I needed”

Leanne was really grateful for our consistent support and now feels much less worried knowing she has someone to call on for any issues in the future. With her new heaters, she can now keep herself warm and safe at home.

Find out more about Warm & Safe Wiltshire, a free energy advice service that helps residents of Swindon and Wiltshire live in warmer, safer and healthier homes.

*Name changed for privacy