British Gas staff feel pressured to force installation of prepayment energy meters on customers in debt, says whistleblower
A current employee in British Gas’s debt recovery team has told Sky News that staff feel pressured to force the installation of prepayment energy meters on customers in debt.
The employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he had seen an increase in the number of indebted customers since the cost of living crisis began, and that debt recovery had become the “be all and end all”.
“My role is predominantly trying to get the most out of that debt collection process. And you know, within the last 18 months, the main focus of that has been the force-fitting of prepayment meters into customers’ homes,” he said.
“A lot of pressure is put on that side of the business to collect more debt, to fit more meters. A lot of time is spent figuring out why, if we haven’t been able to fit a meter, why and what we can do better.
“A lot of the time these customers that you speak to, they physically can’t pay. They don’t have any money. They can’t afford their energy. It is not about them not wanting to pay, they can’t pay.”
British Gas has suspended its use of court warrants to force the installation of prepayment meters following a Times investigation that revealed debt collectors had forced entry into the homes of vulnerable customers.
Energy regulator Ofgem has placed British Gas under investigation and asked all other household suppliers to suspend the practice pending a review.
Forced installation of prepayment meters is intended as a last resort for use against indebted customers who refuse to pay bills, or have failed to respond to attempts by suppliers to engage, usually over a period of more than six months.
The rise in energy prices in the last year has seen an increase in the number of prepayment installations, and ministers and charities have called on companies to stop using the court process.
The whistleblower said he had seen an increase in vulnerable customers
The whistleblower said he had seen an increase in vulnerable customers who he believes were simply unable to meet higher energy costs.
“In the past, it’s been the vast majority of people who just avoided paying their energy, whereas now, the majority is people who are going out to work, they’ve got kids at home, and they’re trying their best, and the best isn’t good enough.
“And they’re sort of being forced into this situation where they’re technically at risk of being cut off unless they pile money, put money on their meter.”
Read more:
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Ofgem tells suppliers to suspend forced installation of prepayment meters
Why problem of prepayment meters won’t go away for vulnerable energy customers
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Centrica boss ‘truly sorry’
In a statement, British Gas’s parent company Centrica said: “We refute this description completely. There has been no increase in the number of prepayment meters we have installed in the last 12 months. Fitting a prepayment meter under warrant has always been a last resort when a customer will not engage with us despite multiple attempts over months.”
The company said installation data supported its position. British Gas supplies 27% of the UK market and has installed 16% of all prepayment meters, some 97,000 out of 600,000 in 2022. Around 20,000 of those installations were through the court warrant process with the balance requested or voluntary.
Sky News has also spoken to a woman who had a prepayment gas meter installed following a forced entry despite not being in debt and being up-to-date with direct debit payments.
The woman, a single mother of two whose identity we are protecting for personal reasons, said she came home to find contractors employed by British Gas had forced a window open.
Sky News is protecting the woman’s identity for personal reasons
“I still feel really violated by it,” she said. “I just couldn’t work out how or why they’d come in, or how they got in. Once I realised, I just felt really exposed, really vulnerable and I still feel really vulnerable because the window is still broken.
“And it’s embarrassing. I got given this card that I had to go top up in a shop, it’s only in specific shops you can top it up, so you’re limited to how and when you can top up.
“The gas might run out in the middle of the night, and then you’ve got to go in, it’s 9pm, and you’ve got two children in bed.
“I’m a single mum, I can’t go out at 9pm and top up a gas card particularly not when it’s not in all the local shops, so it’s just been really difficult. I feel like for the last six months, all I’ve spoken about is British Gas.”
British Gas acknowledged it had made a mistake with the forced fitting and after five months an engineer swapped her back to a credit meter.
Centrica said it would investigate her case.
In a statement, it said: “We are very sorry to read these details and we will ensure her case is looked at as part of our investigation.
“As we made clear yesterday, the allegations around our third-party contractor Arvato are unacceptable and that’s why we immediately suspended their warrant activity.”
Rishi Sunak will give a speech on Monday setting out “bold ideas to change society” – as he seeks to regain momentum following the defection of one of his MPs to Labour and a hammering at the local elections.
In what is being billed by Downing Street as a “major speech” in central London, the prime minister will outline “the stark choice facing the UK public” ahead of the general election later this year.
Mr Sunak has suggested he will go to the polls in the autumn, with Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron telling Sky News on Sunday that voters need time “to see our plan is working”.
In a bid to revive his faltering premiership, the Tory leader will say: “I have bold ideas that can change our society for the better, and restore people’s confidence and pride in our country.
“I feel a profound sense of urgency. Because more will change in the next five years than in the last 30.
“I’m convinced that the next few years will be some of the most dangerous yet most transformational our country has ever known.”
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It is not clear what specific ideas the prime minister will set out.
A trail of the speech released by Downing Street says he will discuss safeguarding the nation’s security against threats like war and rising global immigration.
Migrants attempt to cross the Channel to the UK
Mr Sunak will also set out his intention to capitalise safely on the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence.
He will go on to say: “Our country stands at a crossroads.
“Over the next few years, from our democracy to our economy to our society – to the hardest questions of war and peace – almost every aspect of our lives is going to change.
“How we act in the face of these changes – not only to keep people safe and secure but to realise the opportunities too – will determine whether or not Britain will succeed in the years to come.
“And this is the choice facing the country.”
The speech comes after a difficult week for Mr Sunak, who faced his second defection to Labour after Dover MP Natalie Elphicke crossed the floor to join the opposition benches shortly before PMQs on Wednesday.
Rishi Sunak and Natalie Elphicke in June 2023
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Defecting Tory hits out at Conservatives
Ms Elphicke, considered to be on the right of the Tory party, blamed the “broken promises of Rishi Sunak’s tired and chaotic government”, and said key deciding factors for switching have been “housing and the safety and security of our borders”.
The shock move made her the second Tory MP to join the Labour Party in 11 days after former minister Dan Poulter defected to the opposition, blaming NHS “chaos”.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Mr Sunak has also come under pressure after the Conservatives suffered a mauling at the local elections, losing nearly 500 council seats, the Backpool South by-election and the West Midlands mayoralty in a bruising set of results.
In the wake of the defeats, Mr Sunak was facing calls to tack both further right and further to the centre.
Time is running out to make up ground against Labour ahead of the election, which has to be held by 25 January at the latest.
Rishi Sunak will argue that Britain is safer under the Conservatives against the backdrop of two escalating conflicts likely to dominate the week.
In the last few days, the prime minister has broken with US President Joe Biden by insisting the UK should continue to supply arms to Israel.
It comes as Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu appears poised to mount another massive military operation in the southern Gaza town of Rafah against warnings from the US and UK.
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Meanwhile, there are fears in Whitehall that Russia could mount an operation on Kharkiv by the end of the week to retake Ukraine‘s second-largest city.
Both operations could trigger wider repercussions.
Amid this worsening global outlook, the Conservatives want to highlight what they say is the gap between Tory and Labour pledges on military spending.
Politics latest: Cameron warns Israel against Rafah invasion
Rishi Sunak at the Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire on 3 May. Pic: AP
Sunak announced last month that a future Tory government would ensure 2.5% of GDP will be spent on the military by 2030, while Labour says it will do it when the economic conditions allow.
After the initial announcement, Sunak wants to ensure he gets full public credit for the big spending commitment while pushing Labour on its failure to match the promise.
Labour says that the Tory spending plan does not add up.
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Israel arms embargo ‘not a wise path’
On Monday, Sunak will use a set-piece speech to mount the argument that there is a need for security at home and abroad in an ever-increasingly dangerous world and describe the country as being at a crossroads at the next general election.
In a further major political dividing line, Labour has broken with the government and called this weekend for a suspension of arms to Israel, placing it alongside the United States.
However the Tory government is holding firm, arguing that now is not the time and that Britain only supplies a small amount of the munitions used by Israel.
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Some people inside government suggest that the US government position is driven by President Biden’s need to take a tougher position to shore up votes in the upcoming election race.
Sunak’s Monday speech is one part of a set of security-themed announcements by the government, following Lord Cameron’s media blitz at the weekend.
On Monday, deputy foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell will address a Tory-leaning think tank, while on Tuesday Defence Secretary Grant Shapps will make a speech, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt speaking on Friday.
Also, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden will lead a trade delegation this week to Saudi Arabia.
Although boosting trade will be the focus, Saudi Arabia, like Qatar, is one of the backchannels used by the UK to deliver messages to Hamas.
The police investigation involving Nicola Sturgeon’s husband is “moving on” with prosecutors to receive a file within weeks, Scotland’s most senior officer has told Sky News.
The former first minister and SNP leader’s spouse, Peter Murrell, has been charged in connection with embezzlement of party funds.
In her first interviews since taking on the UK’s second biggest police force, Chief Constable Jo Farrell insisted her officers are “objective” but refused to be drawn on whether the long-running probe will end imminently.
The investigation, dubbed Operation Branchform, was launched in July 2021 after officers received complaints about how SNP donations were used.
There were questions about more than £660,000 raised for a second Scottish independence referendum campaign.
Nicola Sturgeon and Peter Murrell, who were both arrested as part of Police Scotland’s Operation Branchform. Pic: PA
Police Scotland has said Nicola Sturgeon remains under investigation after she was arrested and released without charge in 2023.
The SNP’s former treasurer, Colin Beattie, was also detained for almost 12 hours for questioning in spring last year.
The 72-year-old has told Sky News he had heard “nothing at all” from police recently.
Murrell, 59, was chief executive of the SNP for two decades.
He quit the role weeks before his arrest and resigned his SNP membership in the wake of his police charge.
The probe has involved detectives seizing a £100,000 motorhome from outside the home of one of Murrell’s elderly relatives.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Officers concluded in April there is sufficient evidence to charge Murrell in connection with embezzlement of party funds.
The next stage is for Scotland’s prosecution service, the Crown Office, to receive a report on the case from police and decide whether to proceed to court.
A Crown Office spokesman said: “All (of) Scotland’s prosecutors act independently of political interference.
“As is routine, to protect the integrity of ongoing investigations, we do not comment in detail on their conduct.”
Chief Con Farrell was questioned by Sky News about why the investigation was taking so long to conclude.
Chief Constable Jo Farrell described the investigation as ‘complex’
She said: “It’s a live investigation, complex investigation and the matter has been progressed, and we expect the report to go to the Crown Office in a matter of weeks.”
Asked about this probe continuing in a general election year, she said: “We’ve investigated allegations. That’s moving on.
“We have very skilled, professional, objective individuals working on that case.”
The senior officer refused to say when the SNP probe would be fully concluded or whether other individuals would face further questions.
“I’m not going to make a commentary on the length of it. One person’s been charged, the report will go to the Crown Office and it’s a live investigation,” she said.
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Ms Sturgeon unexpectedly announced her resignation as SNP leader and first minister of Scotland months before police arrested her and her husband.
She has always insisted the probe never played any part in her sudden departure from office.
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