Latest news with #prepaymentMeters
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Tens of thousands to get £1,000 each as energy firms pay out £70m in prepayment meters scandal - here's how to find out if you are eligible
Tens of thousands of Brits are set to receive payouts of up to £1,000 each after they were forced to install prepayment energy meters at home. Energy firms are paying out more than £70million in compensation and financial support after watchdog Ofgem found they were forcibly switching customers to paying upfront after they fell behind on their bills. In some cases, the regulator found this was being done without the consent of customers - sometimes by switching their smart meters to prepay tariffs remotely - and particularly affected vulnerable customers. The practice was exemplified at its worst by agents acting on behalf of British Gas, who were observed using court warrants to demand entry into the homes of indebted customers in order to force them onto prepayment meters. Revelations of the practice, detailed in a newspaper investigation in early 2023, sparked outrage and led to the practice being suspended. However, some firms have been given permission to resume force-fitting of meters. Eight firms are paying out a total of £74million in both compensatory payouts and debt write-offs: Scottish Power EDF Octopus Utility Warehouse Good Energy Tru Energy Ecotricity More than £70million of compensation is being paid out to energy customers who were forcibly switched to pre-paid meters Of that, £55m has already been paid out, with £5.6million of compensation and £13million of debt support still to come. Investigations are continuing into British Gas, Utilita and Ovo Energy, Ofgem said. The forced installation of prepayment meters came to light at the peak of the cost of living crisis, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine forced up energy prices. Are you entitled to compensation? Ofgem advises that if you believe you had a prepayment meter forcibly installed, or had your smart meter switched to a prepayment tariff, you should receive compenstation. To make a claim, you should contact your energy supplier directly, explain the circumstances, and make a formal complaint. For help with complaints, you can contact bodies such as Citizens Advice and Advice Direct Scotland, who may refer you onto additional agencies such as the Extra Help Unit and the Energy Ombudsman. An estimated 5.5million people fell behind on their energy bills in mid-2023, according to the Money Advice Trust, which saw many switched to prepaid energy meters. Some were even switched remotely via their smart meters - a practice that, according to the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee, may have put people off from making the switch from a traditional meter. After the Times investigation into British Gas exposed the forced installation of prepayment meters, Ofcom halted the practice pending an investigation. It found suppliers 'fell short of required standards' in how customers had been treated. Now, firms are only permitted to force the installation of prepayment meters unless a resident is over 75, or has children under the age of two, or has a terminal illness. Companies who break the rules will face enforcement action and unlimited fines. Dhara Vyas, chief executive of Energy UK, which represents energy firms, said suppliers had been working with Ofgem to ensure they stuck to the rules - but insisted there were occasions where forced fittings were justified. She told the BBC: 'Involuntary installations have been a last – but necessary – resort for cases where repeated attempts to address debt with the customer through other means have been unsuccessful. 'It's bad for customers to fall further and further into arrears, and bad debt ultimately drives up the prices that is paid by all customers.'
BBC News
27-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Thousands in line for payouts over forced meter fitting scandal
Tens of thousands of energy customers are set to receive payouts of up to £1,000 each, and could see debts written off, in response to the scandal over the forced fitting of prepayment companies are paying out more £70m in compensation and financial support to follows a review by the regulator, Ofgem, of the way suppliers switched often vulnerable customers to paying upfront, without their agreement, after they fell behind with their UK, representing energy firms, said suppliers had worked hard to "put things right", following the intervention by Ofgem. Eligible customers could receive payments starting at £40, rising to £250 or £500, depending on the way they were treated by their energy supplier, or where processes were not followed £1,000 payments were for customers who had faced "inappropriate installation", Ofgem may already have received help, or have been contacted by their energy supplier. If not, customers did not need to take any action, Ofgem said, as compensation would be paid directly into customer accounts."Our priority has been to put things right for those who weren't treated properly, and ensure we don't see bad practice repeated," said Tim Jarvis, Ofgem's director general of scandal erupted two years ago, at the peak of the cost of living crisis, with energy prices spiking after Russia's invasion of emerged that energy firms were switching people who were struggling to pay their bills onto prepayment methods, either by remotely changing their smart meter to prepay mode, or by entering the property to install a new was a particular outcry when agents for British Gas were found to have forced their way into the homes of vulnerable people. Ofgem responded by suspending all forced installations and launching a review of the practice from January 2022 to January review has found that suppliers "fell short of required standards" in the way they had treated the nearly £74m Ofgem announced was being dispersed applies only to customers at eight suppliers: Scottish WarehouseGood EnergyTru EnergyEcotricityThese firms had already disbursed £55m in financial support, Ofgem said. Another £5.6m would be paid in compensation to 40,000 affected customers. A further £13m would be used to write off debt for customers who had had a forced meter investigations are continuing for British Gas, Utilita and Ovo, representing tens of thousands more customers. A new code of practice is now in place with stricter conditions that suppliers must meet if they want to install prepayment meters without customer Vyas, chief executive of Energy UK, which represents energy firms, said suppliers had been working closely with Ofgem to meet the regulator's requirements, but said there were instances where forced fittings were appropriate."Involuntary installations have been a last – but necessary – resort for cases where repeated attempts to address debt with the customer through other means have been unsuccessful," she said."It's bad for customers to fall further and further into arrears, and bad debt ultimately drives up the prices that is paid by all customers," she Clare Moriarty, chief executive of the charity, Citizens Advice, said she would like to see the sector work quickly to disburse compensation to the worst affected."While it's right that those rules have been tightened, it's also vital that consumers get compensation for the distress that was caused," she said.
