British Gas defied warnings from its regulator five years ago about forcing its way into the homes of struggling customers to install pre-pay meters.
The energy giant is under fire after it emerged last week it had sent debt collectors to break into the homes of vulnerable customers who had fallen behind on bills.
But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Ofgem, the industry watchdog, issued a strongly worded directive in 2018 to British Gas and other suppliers instructing them to install meters by force only as an ‘absolute last resort’.
It said it had evidence that energy giants were ‘using such tactics too often’ and singled out British Gas as one of the worst offenders, forcibly installing meters twice as often as rival firms.
Ofgem director Rob Salter-Church said at the time he would take ‘tough action’ if British Gas failed to improve.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Ofgem, the industry watchdog, issued a strongly worded directive in 2018 to British Gas and other suppliers instructing them to install meters by force only as an ‘absolute last resort’
The energy giant is under fire after it emerged last week it had sent debt collectors to break into the homes of vulnerable customers who had fallen behind on bills (file image)
However, the company ignored Ofgem’s clear instructions. Its forced entries peaked in 2018 when more than 80,000 homes were affected.
Figures from the Ministry of Justice obtained by The Mail on Sunday show that the firm, which has nine million customers, is still conducting hundreds of thousands of forced installations.
Last year it installed 20,000 meters by force.
Two other firms, Ovo Energy and Utility Warehouse, were also criticised in the Ofgem report.
‘Some suppliers are very frequently using force to recover debt,’ Mr Salter-Church said.
‘Instead they need to identify struggling customers and support them in paying money back as our rules require.
Installing meters under warrant to recover debt must be an absolute last resort.’
British Gas was last week banned from using such tactics by Ofgem.
An undercover journalist revealed that agents working for Arvato Financial Services – a company used by British Gas to pursue debts – had entered the home of a single parent with young children to install a meter.
One is reported to have said: ‘This is the exciting bit. I love this bit.’
Chris O’Shea, chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica, said last week he was ‘really sorry’.
He accepted responsibility for the scandal and launched an internal investigation.
Latest Ofgem figures show that the number of complaints against British Gas recently hit their highest level since 2015.
Business Secretary Grant Shapps said he was ‘horrified’ by the findings. Centrica said: ‘Protecting vulnerable customers is an absolute priority.’
Tory MP Alexander Stafford, who is a member of the influential Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee, said it was ‘disgusting’ that British Gas had flouted Ofgem’s warnings.
‘It’s absolutely ridiculous and it says a lot about British Gas and Ofgem,’ he said.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk
