CBS 2 Gets Results: Northwest Side Widow Gets Heat Restored After Her Husband Died And The Gas Was Shut Off
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Only on 2.
A Chicago woman is home-bound and stuck without any heat in her Northwest Side house.
People's Gas told her it got cut off when her husband recently died. CBS 2's Steven Graves started asking questions, and got results.
Sixty-two-year-old Barbara Fredrickson's emotions are high when she mentions her late husband, Ronald.
"It would have been 33 years in June," she said.
Less than a month ago, Ronald Fredrickson died after suffering from dementia. The last few days for Barbara have been filled with grief - and now grievances.
Two days ago, Peoples Gas shut off her service and heat, in the winter, at her North Mayfair, Chicago home. It was all confusing to her, because the bill was paid.
"I just don't understand," Fredrickson said.
She said the company told her the account was under Ronald's name. The company received a death certificate, so a lock went on the meter.
"I think that if they're going to turn off someone's gas, they should make sure there's nobody in the house. And I'd say 'No, don't turn the gas off, I'm here,'" Fredrickson said.
Barbara is home-bound right now, and has been for close to two years. She got space heaters, but tried to get Peoples Gas to come out to fix service immediately.
"They just said, 'We don't consider this an emergency,'" Fredrickson said.
That changed when CBS 2 called out the urgency. Peoples Gas now calls it a mistake, sending a worker to turn on the gas three days before promised.
But Fredrickson worries about other people in her situation who might not be as lucky - stuck in conditions like Thursday's snow, when temperatures drop suddenly.
She wants other people to take a look at their bills and documents - which she will do now.
"I'll check the electric bill; that bills aren't just in his name," Fredrickson said.
She said Peoples Gas has now promised to make an account in her name. People's Gas wrote, in a statement to CBS 2, that this was a mistake, that the company is investigating and apologized for any inconvenience.
The statement from a People's Gas spokesperson:
Service to the customer's home has been restored. We are investigating what caused us to mistakenly turn it off. We sincerely apologize to the customer for the inconvenience she had to face.
