Energy companies are leaving vulnerable customers “in the cold and dark” amid the worst cost of living crisis in living memory. One Scots pensioner who had survived a brain tumour but was left with ongoing health problems was refused help when he was left with just £1 of emergency credit in his prepayment meter.
His energy supplier said he wasn’t entitled to any assistance – because his account was £6.50 in debt. Caseworkers at the Citizens Advice Extra Help Unit – who raise complaints with energy suppliers on behalf of vulnerable people – stepped in to help the cash-strapped OAP by giving him a fuel voucher for his gas and electricity.
Another pensioner was forced to fork out £170 from his benefits every two weeks to clear a debt that had built up because his energy supplier had been sending him bills for a different address. The man – who had been switched to a prepayment meter without warning – was left with next to nothing to live on while he cleared the bill.
