TL;DR not realising electric meter is in emergency credit, spent last money on food for fridge/freezer and now electric is out.
Today I had briefly looked at my electric while trying to figure out how I will make my £15 last until the following Monday and had seen £2.72 on the meter.
So I headed out and spent this money on some cheap frozen meals, some fridge items and bottled waters.
(not the greatest picks I know but my disability makes preparing food difficult, i have strabisimus and severe double vision)
But everything fine.
While I was midway through microwaving my meal.. My electricity shuts off. I go over to the meter and it says £3.02 with small letters that I had overlooks saying DBT for debt. (emergency credit is for just £3)
And it flashes to £0.00 to show i have nothinf available)
At this point till now iv sat panicking, that was all I had to my name until Monday was the £15 I had just spent to have food. If I had known I would of spent just £10 on food and £5 electric would of been sufficient.
I have realy f up because Its been 2 hours since it shut off and I’m certain I have to throw them away, along with the half heated meal I had In the microwave.
Currently feeling hopeless sat in the dark, hungry, depressed and alone as I do not have family support, I feel out of hope, and I do not know what to do.
It it possible for me to just drink water without food until next week, will i be okay?
I do have a 3/4 pack of biscuits to but that’s it. I am just sad and could do with some advice.
The food is stil in the fridge and freezer but power has been out for 3 hours.
Comments
Can you prove that the meter is “in the red”, if yes, do you have paypal or some other easy way to receive money?
Do you have a cooler? Can you ask a neighbor for some ice? Ice in the sink would help – you can put newspaper on top to keep things cold.
If you’re able to get it back on fairly quickly, your food will likely be okay. Especially if you haven’t been opening the fridge and freezer, they should stay cold for quite a few hours. For context, I used to work at a camp that ran on a generator and shut off power entirely for 8-9 hours every night. The industrial cooler stayed cold enough to meet food safety standards, and the couple of smaller fridges were fine as long as they were mostly kept shut as well. Things like microwave meals especially should be fine!
You British?
You can call your electric provider and they will supply an emergency credit to your account.
This will be paid back in small increments each time you top up.
You can call 24/7 via their emergency line for this.
Wait, how does paying for electricity work for Brits? I’m now picturing something like a parking meter that you have to feed regularly to keep your electricity running.
Call your service provider and explain. They won’t cut you off. Do you have any children in the home? X
Is there a food bank or similar near you?
I don’t have much myself but if you DM me something to show the situation you are in, I can send something via PayPal.
Also – once we’ve done that, if you are disabled as you say and you require electricity or heating to help with your disability, you should be on a vulnerable customers list (Uk) and they should be able to help you ensure this doesn’t happen again. But for now, DM me and j can help you a tiny bit. Even if others have given enough for electricity, I can help with food etc.
You shouldn’t have to be in this situation and trust me when I tell you – you aren’t alone. 💚
I’m pretty sure the £3 is if you go over and don’t activate the actual emergency credit. Most emergency is between 10 and 15 quid. Which needs to be activated at the meter by pressing the button and following the instructions