Council's Fuel Poverty Nightmare: Mom's 18-Month Ordeal

On April 2nd, a mom of 5 in London went without proper heating for 18 months in her council

home, forcing her family, including an autistic, kid to huddle in cold rooms.

Westminster City Council promised an economy, seven board to cut heating costs when she

moved in, but it never happened, spiking her bills into fuel.

Poverty with over 4,000 pounds in debt and landing her on a prepay meter, issues started

back in February 2022, with repeated breakdowns in her four-bedroom place.

She flagged high bills and meter faults multiple times through August 2023, but repairs dragged,

including one emergency fix that took.

Over 15 working days, the family felt that chill hard.

He nonverbal autistic child couldn't handle extra layers due to sensory issues, so she

bought her own heaters with no.

Reembursement from the council.

No one checked vulnerabilities properly, despite her reports.

The housing ombudsman slammed the council with severe maladministration in their October

22nd, 2025 report, citing Mist.

Checks on the heating system, poor records, and delayed responses that ignored the home's

needs.

Council owns it now, apologizing fully and rolling out new vulnerability checks, bigger complaints

teams, and better training.

They've upcompensation offers and are reimbursing extra costs once bills come in, aiming to

fix their game for residents like her.