Page 30 - Prepayment Meter News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

It comes after an undercover reporter from the times newspaper found the metres were being fitted in homes which should be protected. here's our business correspondent emma simpson. hello, british gas, your gas supplier. we're here with a court warrant. debt collectors, about to break in to install a prepayment meter. this is the exciting bit. i love this bit. the customer, a single father with three young kids, isn't home. the team includes an undercover reporter. it was clear there were vulnerabilities. there was an inhaler, a ventolin asthma inhaler for a child, eczema cream, but we proceed...

Of vulnerable people, and fitted pre—payment meters without consent. fitting the meters can result in heating being cut off. the owner of british gas, centrica, said it was "inexcusable" and has been joined by other suppliers tonight in suspending the practice. our business correspondent emma simpson has the story. hello, british gas, your gas supplier. we're here with a court warrant. debt collectors, about to break in to install a prepayment meter. this is the exciting bit. i love this bit. he didn't know about the undercover reporter, though. the customer, a single father with three young...

Can express the horror i had when i heard this, when i saw this. it's completely unacceptable. so as soon as we heard this, we suspended arvato. arvato has said it respected and adhered to the rules. energy suppliers can legally force—fit prepayment meters. it should be a last resort if people are in arrears, and vulnerable customers shouldn't be switched. one woman told us four men broke into her home to try to put one in... the problem is, if you are forced into a prepayment meter, that effectively means if you don't have the money to top up, you are cut off from your energy supply. we've ...

The majority of people pay for gas and electricity on a direct debit, but some use a prepayment top—up meter. it has become commonplace for energy suppliers to switch those struggling with their bills onto these pay—as—you—go meters, but we are increasingly hearing has something that makes matters worse, but we are increasingly hearing how some fell that makes matters worse, leaving them in the cold and dark. they cut me off for being 33p just over. it's never going to end. there's not a light at the end of the tunnel for anybody and it is just absolutely diabolical. now the business s...

Onto prepayment meters. but what would also like to see here is that people who already have prepayment meters is that they can keep using energy. so energy companies say, don't they, that these are a last resort. do you accept that argument? it's true that the regulations are very strict and say that it should only be a last resort. but i'm afraid our research and the number of people who are coming to citizens advice really struggling to top up their pre—payment so that there are many scenarios where it is not the last resort and that energy firms should be doing far more to make sure that...