A MOTHER-of-two has spoken of her frustration after a series of errors left her without gas for two days.

Ipswich Star: Jodene Harris pictured with son StefanJodene Harris pictured with son Stefan

Jodene Harris, 32, from Bramford, had her pay-as-you-go gas meter replaced by British Gas after a fault, but a failure to provide her with a new gas card meant she couldn’t add money to the meter for 10 days.

When Mrs Harris first contacted British Gas about the card, she was told to collect a new card from her local Co-Op and enter an access number.

Despite several attempts, the card failed to work. British Gas sent an engineer to put £5 emergency credit on the meter but still failed to send a new card. Without a landline phone, Mrs Harris was forced to rack up a £27 mobile bill trying to sort out the problem.

She asked for another top-up and was promised a visit from an engineer, who then failed to turn up, leaving her and her two children, Stefan, 6, and Shannon, 13, without gas for two days.

“It was very frustrating,” she said.

“I rang on my mobile and asked them to call back and they wouldn’t. I had to use my neighbour’s phone, which was just embarrassing.”

Over the 10 days, four more engineers were called out to put emergency credit on the meter before a new card was eventually delivered.

British Gas has since credited Mrs Harris’s meter with the money she spent on her mobile phone bill as well as wiping the £35 of emergency credit and adding an extra £30 for the missed callout and inconvenience.

She said: “I was happy with the outcome but I wasn’t happy with the service at the time. The engineers were lovely but the customer service was absolutely disgusting.”

Lucy Coyle of British Gas said, “I am very sorry that Mrs Harris has had problems following the exchange of her meter.

“Unfortunately we didn’t give Mrs Harris a new card so she couldn’t put credit on her account.

“We have since spoken to Mrs Harris to apologise and she confirmed her new card had arrived. We have offered Mrs Harris a gesture of goodwill for the inconvenience caused.”

Have you experienced a similar problem? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich IP4 1AN, or email starletters @archant.co.uk