THE frustrations of trying to carry on with normal life during a power cut are well known to us all.
But when the electricity went out for 14 hours in John Scotcher's home, the experience was made all the more bewildering after a string of contradictory texts and calls from supplier UK Power Networks.
This included a conversation with one operator who informed him there were currently a number of problems in his area of Norfolk – more than 120 miles away from his Betchworth home!
Hundreds of residents in the Gadbrook Road area were left without power on the night of September 13 after a fault developed on an overhead cable.
After 69-year-old Mr Scotcher made contact with the company at 6.20pm to report the loss, he was originally assured that his power would be restored by 4.30am the following morning.
But when he awoke at 6.30am to find he was still without electricity, he put in another call of complaint to the company.
Despite a number of his neighbours also telephoning the supplier, they were repeatedly told that there were currently no reported problems in their area.
"It wasn't too bad for us but our elderly neighbours have every- thing electric so they were trying to cook off a camper stove," said the retired banking executive.
"Obviously in the countryside we tend to get power cuts but we have never had one where the information given to us has been so bad. That was the most frustrating thing about it. They didn't seem to have a clue what they were doing."
He added: "For at least two hours of phoning-in people were being told that no power shortage had been reported. That is outrageous."
UK Power Networks told the Mirror power was interrupted to 630 customers in the Gadbrook Road area from about 6.20pm on September 13 due to the fault on a high voltage overhead cable.
Residents had their power restored by 2.45am the following morning, but at about 5.30am the same day, a further fault developed on the same part of the network, affecting 33 customers.
Press officer Jessica Gallagher added: "Providing an excellent customer service is extremely important and we sincerely apologise to the customer as we haven't met our usual high standards in his case."
"We are investigating the incident to find out how we can improve our service and will continue to liaise with him to ensure he is happy with the outcome."
6.20pm (September 13): Power out in Gadbrook Road, Betchworth. John Scotcher calls UK Power Networks to notify them of the problem. They agree to send him text updates on their progress as they fix the issue.
11pm: Mr and Mrs Scotcher go to bed having received several texts, including one stating that power was expected to be restored by 4.30am.
6.30am (September 14): Mr Scotcher awakes to find the power is still off. He calls UK Power Networks to let them know.
7.30am: Mr Scotcher sends a text to the company again reporting the power failure. He receives a reply stating: "We are not currently aware of a power cut in your area." He calls again. The operator informs Mr Scorcher there are currently a lot of power cuts in his area of Norfolk.
8.27am: A text arrives on Mr Scorcher's phone telling him the company is doing everything it can to get the power back on.
8.28am: Another text appears, stating that engineers are on their way and that power should be back on by 11.30am.9.31am and 9.32am: Two further texts arrive confirming that the company's team are doing everything they can to get the power back on.
10.02am: Mr Scotcher calls UK Power Networks again and is greeted with a recorded message stating that engineers were on the way and that houses in the Gadbrook Road area would have their power reconnected by 11.30am.
10.20am: Power returns to Mr Scotcher's home but 20 seconds later he receives the following text: "Our engineers are taking longer than they thought to get to your area. This is because of a higher number of faults than usual in your area. "We'll let you know when they arrive. Thank you for your patience."
