Rise in energy firms remotely switching homes to prepay meters

A rising fig of households are having their vigor astute meters remotely switched to prepayment meters, the vigor regulator has said.

Energy firms usage the exertion to swap customers who are successful indebtedness to the much costly program without needing a warrant.

Ofgem said it had received reports of "vulnerable customers being near without powerfulness for days oregon adjacent weeks".

Kelly, from South London, whose metre was switched, said: "I abruptly lone had £3 connected my electrical until payday."

Once a astute metre is installed, it is simply a overmuch simpler process for a supplier to swap the lawsuit into prepay mode astatine the propulsion of a button, alternatively than having to use for a warrant and instal a carnal box.

Switches tin either beryllium done astatine the petition of customers oregon done by the supplier arsenic portion of a indebtedness betterment process.

Kelly, who did not privation to america to usage her past name, was a nonstop debit lawsuit with EDF erstwhile terms rises saw her bills much than treble from £200 a period to much than £430.

The mother-of-two, who works part-time and receives £320 Universal Credit per month, rapidly recovered herself astir £1,000 successful debt.

"I've been calling EDF connected and disconnected since January to benignant it," she said. "Then I got a missive saying they would alteration maine connected to prepayment."

Kelly tried again to speech to her supplier and told the BBC that connection has been mediocre and notes connected her lawsuit were not decently updated.

Then, successful October, she simply got a substance telling her that she was present connected a prepayment plan. "I abruptly lone had £3 connected my electrical until payday. I was truthful unhappy."

EDF told the BBC a power to a prepayment metre was "a past resort" aft extended attempts to sermon enactment and hold a solution with the customer.

A spokesperson added: "In this situation, moving a lawsuit to pay-as-you-go volition forestall them from continuing to accrue indebtedness astatine an uncontrollable complaint and punctual the lawsuit to instrumentality power of their ongoing vigor payments."

Citizens Advice told the BBC that truthful acold successful 2022 astir 500 radical person been successful interaction successful distress aft being forcibly moved onto prepayment - a 158% summation successful cases connected 2021.

Rosi Avis, who heads up the Manchester Branch, said distant switching is "disconnection by the backdoor".

"If customers are unaware that they are connected a pre-payment metre they mightiness not apical up and truthful they are much apt to self-disconnect from their state oregon electric," she explained.

Citizens Advice predicts that 450,000 radical could beryllium forced onto a prepayment program this wintertime and of those, it expects 180,000 to beryllium made arsenic automatic distant switches via a astute meter.

More than 152,000 households with astute meters were remotely switched to much costly prepayment plans by their supplier past year, according to information from Ofgem.

There has been a steep emergence successful distant switches. Some 56,000 homes saw their energy switched successful 2020. That much than doubled to 108,000 successful 2021. Some 39,000 households had their state metre switched successful 2020, that accrued astir fourfold to 152,000 successful 2021.

The BBC contacted suppliers for 2022 data. None would stock the information, but volition beryllium reporting an update to Ofgem astatine the extremity of the year. Nonetheless, the immense emergence successful vigor prices means it is anticipated that this inclination successful much distant switches has continued.

Ofgem said that 60,000 households had been switched implicit the past 3 months.

Ofgem said it was acrophobic astir reports that immoderate susceptible customers were being switched to prepayment meters without afloat respect to their situation.

"In utmost cases reports we received suggested this had led to immoderate susceptible customers being near without powerfulness for days oregon adjacent weeks," a spokesperson said.

"This is wholly unacceptable, particularly arsenic we caput into a precise challenging winter."

It said customers should beryllium told that astute meters tin beryllium switched.

Neil Lawrence, manager of retail astatine Ofgem, said: "Smart metre pre-payment switches are connected the increase, and we bash show that data.

"This should lone beryllium erstwhile it's harmless and applicable to bash so, and astute meters should not beryllium switched without those due assessments taking place, including identifying vulnerability," helium added.

Ofgem has written to each suppliers to urgently punctual them of their obligations.

"Where they neglect to bash so, we volition instrumentality enactment against them," helium said.

The Christians Against Poverty (CAP) foundation attended 1 of Ofgem's meetings connected the substance and said that enactment is needed urgently.

"We are seeing radical switched to a antithetic outgo benignant without conversations happening," said CAP's vigor narration manager Paul Walmsley. "That tin beryllium truly distressing and determination should beryllium protections successful spot for those people."

"Suppliers should beryllium taking a batch of owed diligence with people. They should beryllium making definite determination is nary vulnerability successful the household. They should beryllium making definite the lawsuit has the quality to pay," helium added.

The BBC contacted British Gas, Ovo-SSE, Scottish, EDF, Eon-Next, Shell, Octopus, Bulb, Utilita & So Energy. None were consenting to stock updated figures connected 2022 switches. All stressed that immoderate customers successful trouble should talk to their supplier. Shell besides added that a 3rd of their customers switched to prepayment asked to bash so, due to the fact that they spot it arsenic the champion mode to assistance fund and power spending.

A concern that promotes astute meters, Smart Energy GB, was keen to constituent retired that the exertion has benefits. "If you already prepay for your energy, a astute metre offers respective advantages implicit an analogue prepay meter, specified arsenic the quality to apical up from home," a spokesperson said.

"Support is besides easier to entree - for example, the £400 Energy Bill Support Scheme recognition is applied automatically for those connected astute prepay with nary request to redeem a voucher."

A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy said: "We recognize this is simply a hard clip for families, which is wherefore we person enactment successful spot contiguous enactment including the Energy Price Guarantee, which is redeeming the emblematic household astir £700, successful summation to providing the astir susceptible households with £1,200 each this twelvemonth connected apical of the £400 enactment that households are benefitting from.

"We expect suppliers to afloat comply with their obligations and invited the steps Ofgem is taking."

Have you had your astute metre switched to a prepayment meter? Share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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