British Gas agrees £20million settlement for vulnerable customers who 'had house broken into and meter installed without permission'
British Gas has agreed to pay a £20 million settlement and compensate customers after it was revealed that debt agents had broken into the homes of vulnerable customers to fit prepayment energy meters.
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The energy supplier will compensate customers who were affected in 2018-21, on top of payments that have already been made to those affected in 2022-23.
British Gas will also write off up to £70 million of energy debt for vulnerable customers as part of the agreement.
The now-banned practice saw energy companies apply to the courts for permission for debt agents to force their way into customers' homes and fit a meter if they fall behind on bills.
In one case, witnessed in an investigation by The Times, debt agents broke into a single father-of-three's home to install a prepayment meter during freezing conditions, and in another instance they force-fit one at the home of a young mother who had a four-week-old baby and was facing soaring energy bills.
Job notes showed British Gas customers had forced prepayment meter fittings at the home of a woman in her 50s who was thought to have "severe mental health bipolar", a woman who had "mobility problems and is short sighted" and a mother whose daughter "is disabled and has a hoist and [an] electric wheelchair".
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Ofgem has subsequently banned the practice of fitting prepayment meters without customers' permission in high-risk households.
Chris O’Shea, group chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica, said: “What happened should never have happened, and I am sorry to the prepayment customers who were affected.
“When we get things wrong, we make them right.
“When these issues came to light in 2023 – we apologised, stopped the activity immediately and took rapid action to improve our processes and change how we engage with customers in debt, particularly those in vulnerable situations.
“Over the last three years, we have treated this matter with the seriousness it deserves and have made changes to our practices and put safeguards in place to ensure we deliver the standards our customers have every right to expect.
“Providing help to those who need it most has always been a core part of what we do at British Gas, and this issue has been deeply felt by the many thousands of colleagues who work hard every day to do the right thing for our customers.”
Tim Jarvis, the watchdog’s chief executive, said: “It is clear that British Gas fell short in its treatment of an unacceptable number of vulnerable customers who had a prepayment meter installed without consent, and it’s right that they’ve taken action to put things right.
“Because of our action customers will receive a substantial package of redress, compensation and debt write off.”
Minister for Energy Consumers Martin McCluskey said: “Consumers deserve an energy market they can trust. That trust was broken for too many families affected by the forced installations of prepayment meters, which was an unacceptable national scandal.
“It is good to see Ofgem standing up for people and British Gas taking responsibility to put things right. They must make sure the victims see every penny of the compensation they are owed.
“Our reforms, including those we set out last month to strengthen the energy regulator, will help make sure injustices like these never happen again – incentivising companies to act in customers’ best interests and empowering Ofgem as a true consumer champion.”