A consumer watchdog has called for a ban on 'forced' switches to prepayment meters until more protections are introduced. Citizens Advice found 3.2 million people in Britain on a prepayment meter were cut off in 2022 - the equivalent of one every 10 seconds.
New protections would ensure that households can no longer be fully cut off from gas and electricity, says the charity group. This may be of particular importance to those who have a smart meter as they can be switched to a prepayment mode remotely and without permission, reports the Daily Record.
Ofgem data from November 2022 showed that around 60,000 UK households had their meters remotely switched to prepayment mode in the three months prior. In many instances, this will be voluntary, as people will opt to be switched to prepay to stop them from accruing debt with their supplier.
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Based on Ofgem figures, Citizens Advice estimates that 600,000 people were forced on to a more expensive prepayment meter in 2022. The BBC reported that Energy UK, which represents suppliers, claimed energy companies had to exhaust all other options before installing a prepayment meter.
Despite this, Citizens Advice say that they saw more people who can't top up their prepayment meter last year than in the whole of the previous 10 years combined. Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: "All too often the people finding it hardest to pay their bills are being forced onto a prepayment meter they can't afford to top up.
"This puts them at real risk of being left in cold, damp and dark homes. The staggering rise in the cost of living means many simply cannot afford to heat and power their homes to safe levels."
She added that if Ofgem doesn't act, the Government must intervene as those that are being moved to prepayment meters are already at 'breaking point'.
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