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Why should we have to pay out when our power is cut?
• AS a resident of what the power supply company EDF says is one of the 440 properties affected by last week’s power cuts in West Hampstead, I too lost money.
Not only couldn’t I work Tuesday afternoon – I am a freelance journalist – but the power cut meant I couldn’t cook and so I had to go out to eat. It also sent my video recorder crazy, so I had to pay £50 for an expert to come and sort it out for me. Tuesday’s power cut was the fifth this year. After one such occasion, the power surge occurring when power was restored destroyed my neighbour’s fridge, TV and video.
Why should we have to go to our insurers to sort out EDF’s problem? Why should we have to pay the excess? When the total amount involved is less than the excess (normally £100), the insurers won’t pay anyway. And in some cases it is hard to prove how much business is lost. By not having my computer all Tuesday afternoon I got behind in my work. That could mean I would have to turn away work later on – but I can’t prove it.
If EDF invested in modernising the network instead of paying shareholders, we wouldn’t have so many power cuts. Bring back nationalised utilities!
Marcia MacLeod
Dennington Park Road, NW6
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Your comments:
I too was a victim of the West Hampstead power cuts. Our flat screen television set blew in front of my eyes when the power wavered before the last cut. It cost £280 to buy eighteen months ago, and is beyond economic repair. As Marcia MacLeod points out, claiming from the insurance is not cost effective either. So we are out of pocket, with no likely recompense. EDF say they pay out £50 compensation if the power if off for more than 18 hours. But in may case, and I am sure in many others, this is irrelevant. The damage is done.
S. Inglis
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