A leading charity is calling for a review of households who have already been forced on to prepayment gas and electricity meters against their will in the light of a ban on courts issuing warrants to allow energy firms to fit the meters.
Citizens Advice Newcastle joined the call for new protections to stop people being fully cut off from energy if they could not afford to top up and said there must be a total ban on energy companies forcing those already at breaking point onto prepayment meters.
The charity 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. One customer who lived with her three grandchildren in Walker, Newcastle, told of her fears of being left without power all winter after her smart meter was remotely switched to prepayment mode by Scottish Power to claw back electricity arrears.
