Energy regulator launches British Gas investigation over prepayment meters

British Gas customers who have had their meters fitted by force recently included a mother whose ‘daughter is disabled and has a hoist and [an] electric wheelchair’. Photograph: John Birdsall/Alamy

The energy regulator has launched an investigation into British Gas after it emerged that agents working on its behalf ignored customers’ vulnerabilities.

Ofgem said it would not “hesitate to take firm enforcement action” against the energy supplier after it was alleged that Arvato Financial Solutions, a company used by British Gas to pursue debts, had broken into homes to fit meters when there were signs that young children and people with disabilities lived in the property.