{"id":40052,"date":"2026-05-15T23:23:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T03:23:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/2026\/05\/15\/british-gas-pays-20m-to-settle-probe-into-force-fitting-of-prepayment-meters\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T23:23:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T03:23:08","slug":"british-gas-pays-20m-to-settle-probe-into-force-fitting-of-prepayment-meters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/2026\/05\/15\/british-gas-pays-20m-to-settle-probe-into-force-fitting-of-prepayment-meters\/","title":{"rendered":"British Gas pays \u00a320m to settle probe into force-fitting of prepayment meters"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

British Gas pays \u00a320m over prepayment meter force-fitting scandal<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n

<\/p>\n

Emer Moreau<\/span>and<\/span><\/p>\n

Michael Race,<\/span>Business reporters<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

Getty Images<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Debt agents working for British Gas broke into the homes of vulnerable customers to fit prepayment energy meters.<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

British Gas has agreed to pay \u00a320m into a redress fund and compensate customers to settle an investigation by the energy regulator into the forced fitting of prepayment meters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Ofgem found the company had “failed to meet the standards required” when installing the meters and had breached licence conditions specifically aimed at protecting customers in vulnerable situations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Three years ago it emerged that debt agents working for British Gas had broken into the homes of vulnerable customers to fit prepayment meters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

British Gas has apologised, and the complete settlement package will cost the company up to \u00a3112m in payments, compensation and writing off customers’ debt.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In 2023, the Times revealed how agents working for Arvato Financial Solutions, on behalf of British Gas, had forced their way into the home of a single father of three to install a prepayment meter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

After establishing the property was unoccupied, an undercover reporter observed the agents work with a locksmith to force their way in and install a meter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The scandal was industry-wide: 40,000 customers had a prepayment meter installed without permission between 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Suppliers including EDF, E.On and Scottish Power have already agreed to pay compensation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Ofgem investigated and subsequently banned the practice of fitting prepayment meters without customers’ permission in high-risk households.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Amber Chivers told the BBC following a mix up over her energy bill direct debit, workers on behalf of British Gas broke into her home and installed a prepayment meter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“It was a big shock and alarming that somebody had come into our private space, private home, without pre-notification or anything,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

British Gas has since apologised to Amber.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

‘Should be a last resort’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n

The regulator found that British Gas was first made aware of the issue in 2018 through an external review. The problem was again flagged in an internal audit in 2021 but the company did not suspend the practice until 2023.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The boss of British Gas owner Centrica, Chris O’Shea apologised to those customers affected, saying: “What happened should never have happened.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He added that when the problems emerged the company “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”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“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.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Ofgem boss Tim Jarvis said the company “fell short in its treatment of an unacceptable number of vulnerable customers who had a PPM [prepayment meter] installed without consent”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“The installation of prepayment meters under warrant should only be a last resort, with rigorous checks to ensure debt is recovered lawfully, proportionately and safely,” he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

He told the BBC’s Today programme that suppliers have to go to court to get a warrant to install a meter without consent. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

“Once they’ve got a warrant they then have to follow our rules. Our rules include a welfare check,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Ofgem said that customers who are due compensation would be contacted and do not need to take any action. The watchdog did not say how many people would be eligible for a payout.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

The full settlement package includes:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
    \n
  • Compensation for customers who had a meter fitted between 2018 and 2021. This is on top of the compensation paid to customers affected between 2022 and 2023<\/li>\n
  • Writing off up to \u00a370m of vulnerable customers’ energy debt. Some of this will be used as compensation to customers<\/li>\n
  • Paying the remainder of a \u00a322.4m voluntary support packaged for prepayment customers which was launched by British Gas in 2023<\/li>\n
  • The creation of a Vulnerable Customers Debt Advisory Panel within British Gas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    ‘Really dangerous situations’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    Clare Moriarty, the head of Citizens Advice, said: “Many of those affected were left without heat in the depths of winter because they couldn’t afford to top up. Those people deserve real compensation. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    The settlement, she said, “helps deliver that and serves as a warning to energy suppliers not to put consumers at risk”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    “Without proper support, struggling families can be left in really dangerous situations. Ofgem must ensure the closure of this investigation is a step forward, not the final word.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    There are three types of prepayment meters – key meters, smart card meters and smart prepayment meters. The first two work in a very similar way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    Prepayment meters require customers to pay for their energy use in advance, either through accounts or by adding credit to a card in a convenience store or Post Office.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    Strict rules also apply that prevent energy suppliers moving an at-risk customer onto a prepayment meter if they are struggling to pay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    Many rented properties also have prepayment meters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    Problems can arise when residents no longer have any credit left on the meter and have no money to top it up, leaving them unable to cook or heat their homes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    British Gas pays \u00a320m over prepayment meter force-fitting scandal 10 hours ago Emer Moreauand Michael Race,Business reporters Getty Images Debt agents working for British Gas broke into the homes of vulnerable customers to fit prepayment energy meters. British Gas has agreed to pay \u00a320m into a redress fund and compensate customers to settle an investigation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,21,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-market","category-news","entry","has-media"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sharewatch.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}