More than 100,000 people have signed a petition calling for a complete ban on energy companies forcing people to switch to prepayment meters to recoup debts that have built up on their accounts.
The news comes as it has been reported that debt collectors hired by British Gas are breaking into vulnerable customers' homes to fit prepayment meters, which force families to top up the meter if they want to receive gas supplies or 'self-disconnect' if they haven't got the funds.
Online campaigners 38 Degrees says the public has united behind calls for energy companies to stop forcing struggling people to accept prepayment meters, saying the petition highlights the broader harms of forced switching. Prepayment - or pay as you go - meters only work if the customer pays for their gas or electricity before they use it, either via an app or adding credit to a card or 'key'.
Read more: Energy crisis: Can your energy company move you to a prepay meter to clear debt?
Paying for your energy using this method is more expensive than paying by direct debit or cash after you have used the energy, but families sometimes have no choice if they have struggled to pay and are in debt to an energy supplier. Many rented properties also have prepayment meters.
Matt Richards, campaign manager at 38 Degrees, said: “Having a prepayment meter forcibly installed in your home can be a traumatic experience for people already struggling. But it’s not just the method of installation that’s the problem: a prepayment meter means higher bills and the constant fear of knowing you could be cut off at any moment."
The Times reported on British Gas debt collectors after a reporter went undercover with debt-collecting contractor Arvato Financial Solutions and joined agents who force-fit the meters, according to The Mirror.
Centrica, the owner of British Gas, announced it was suspending "all warrant activity" after the article was published. The parent company will also launch an investigation into the claims, which included force fitting meters in the homes of a single father with three young children and a mother with a four-week-old baby.
Centrica chief executive officer Chris O'Shea told the Mirror in a statement: "Protecting vulnerable customers is an absolute priority and we have clear processes and policies to ensure we manage customer debt carefully and safely. The allegations around our third-party contractor Arvato are unacceptable and we immediately suspended their warrant activity. Having recently reviewed our internal processes to support our prepayment customers as well as creating a new £10m fund to support those prepayment customers who need help the most, I am extremely disappointed that this has occurred.
"As a result, on Wednesday morning, we took a further decision to suspend all our prepayment warrant activity at least until the end of the winter. More broadly, there are clearly significant challenges around affordability and unfortunately, we don't see that changing anytime soon. We need to strike a balance between managing spiralling bad debt and being aware that there are those who refuse to pay and those who cannot pay. We think Government, industry and the regulator need to come together to agree a long-term plan to address this and ultimately create an energy market that is sustainable."
The report caused shockwaves through the Government, with Grant Shapps, the business and energy secretary, ordering an urgent meeting with British Gas and the Prime Minister's official spokesman describing the report as "deeply shocking and concerning".
Mr Richards, of 38 Degrees, said: “Everyone involved should be utterly ashamed of themselves. It’s a fundamental collective failure. This is a widespread issue, it is not confined to British Gas, which is why more than 100,000 members of the public are calling on all the UK’s major energy suppliers to put a stop to the prepayment scandal."
Citizens Advice last month called for energy companies to be banned from forcing customers onto prepayment meters, after estuimating one household ran out of credit on their prepayment meter every 10 seconds last year, an estimated 3.2 million people overwhelmed by rising energy bills, food prices and inflation in the cost of living crisis.
Based on Ofgem figures, Citizens Advice estimates that around 600,000 people were forced onto a prepayment meter because they couldn't afford their energy bills in 2022 and predicts that another 160,000 more households could be moved onto a prepayment meter by the end of winter if no further action is taken.
Newcastle Citizens Advice has previously warned of its fears that people could die in their cold homes as vulnerable families who have to pay for their energy in advance face winter.
"The energy price guarantee is £2,500 for an average home but the message we are getting is that this is massively unaffordable for some people, who are taking desperate - and dangerous - risks to keep warm," said a spokesperson from the CAB. "In winter 20-21, it is estimated that 6,000 people in England died as direct result of their homes being too cold, and energy costs then were around half of what they are now.
"At Citizens Advice Newcastle, we have seen more people who can't afford to heat their homes last year than the previous five years combined. It's shocking and desperate and we are worried that people are going to pass away simply because their homes are too cold."
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