Energy suppliers allowed to resume forced installation of prepayment meters
The energy regulator has warned suppliers over their conduct as a temporary ban on the forced installation of prepayment meters ends.
Ofgem said on Monday that it was allowing EDF, Octopus and Scottish Power to resume “involuntary” ‘Pay as you Go’ meter installations.
That was because the three firms had met conditions to restart the controversial practice.
It was outlawed by the watchdog industry-wide in February last year following an investigation that revealed how debt collectors had forced their way into the homes of vulnerable customers to install prepayment meters.
They can be fitted when a household is in debt and mean that energy is cut off if no up-front payments are made.
Charges for gas and electricity are typically higher for these customers than those who pay by direct debit.
Last year, Ofgem increased the requirements that suppliers must meet to help prevent more direct debit customers from being forcibly moved to pay-as-you-go.
These demand greater communication with struggling households. Prepayment meters cannot be fitted in the homes of people aged over 75 with no support in their house or in homes with children under two-years-old.
Involuntary prepayment meter installations were stopped after a backlash against the treatment of vulnerable customers
The new criteria also includes a demand that at least 10 attempts to contact a customer be made before any forced installation is considered.
To meet the conditions, firms must have completed several steps laid out by Ofgem such as audits of installations to date and offers of any appropriate compensation to households wrongfully treated.
The number of indebted homes has risen sharply as gas and electricity bills hit record levels, largely as a result of surging wholesale costs exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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An additional 600,000 homes were on prepayment meters last year when the cost of living crisis peaked.
Ofgem’s new code, which is tied to a supplier’s operating licence, means they must be proactive when customers clearly need help.
Director general for markets, Tim Jarvis, said: “Protecting consumers is our number one priority.
“We’ve made clear that suppliers must exhaust all other options before considering forced installation of a prepayment meter, and consumers can help themselves by reaching out to their supplier as soon as possible if they think they won’t be able to pay their bill, so payment options can be discussed.
“Our rules on when, and how, a prepayment meter can be installed are clear and we won’t hesitate to take action if suppliers act irresponsibly.
“While nobody wants to see the practices uncovered last year repeated, we also know that allowing households to build up unsustainable amounts of debt isn’t the right thing to do either.
“Many households value the control that these pay-as-you-go meters offer over bills and how they can help with budgeting, and suppliers must also be able to recover debt to make sure those costs don’t end up on everyone else’s bills.”
The co-founders of the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream brand are demanding the brand be given its independence back amid a long-running row with its current UK owner.
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have written an open letter demanding that it be “released” from its parent firm.
Mr Cohen told Sky News he would give back the money he received in the sale of the business to Unilever in 2000 if it meant the brand could be independent.
Ben & Jerry’s is set to spin off all its ice cream brands under The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC) name in a deal set to be fully completed before the end of the year.
“You’re saying, would I give it back? Absolutely. If we could still have Ben and Jerry’s independent, any day”, he said.
“It seems like the board of Magnum has been Trumpified”, Mr Cohen told Sky News as he protested the “silencing” of Ben & Jerry’s social mission.
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The consumer goods firm Unilever has never enjoyed an easy relationship with Ben & Jerry’s – a brand known for its activism on many political and social issues.
As part of the original merger deal, an independent board was set up to protect the ice cream brand’s mission.
But a series of disputes have followed.
The most high-profile spat came in 2021 when the US brand took the decision not to sell ice cream in Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories on the grounds that sales would be “inconsistent” with its values.
Ben Cohen in London
Unilever responded by selling the business to its licensee in Israel.
The independent board is currently locked in a legal dispute with Unilever, claiming in March that its then-chief executive David Stever was improperly sacked.
Ben Cohen. File pic: AP
For its part, Unilever has always argued that it “reserved primary responsibility for financial and operational decisions” as owners of Ben & Jerry’s.
In another example of the frostiness between them, an ice cream flavour launched in support of Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris went down badly in London.
Ben & Jerry’s claimed Unilever had demanded it stop public criticism of Donald Trump.
Mr Cohen was one of seven people arrested during the Senate protest in May
Ben Cohen himself was arrested earlier this year over a protest in support of Gaza during a US Senate hearing.
He and Mr Greenfield intervened in the ownership row as TMICC briefed investors on their plans at a so-called capital markets day. They say the independent board and many consumers and employees “no longer support the trajectory on which it is set”.
Mr Cohen, who is attending the event to protest, said: “Ben & Jerry’s was founded on a simple but radical premise: that our business could thrive and make outstanding products whilst standing up for progressive values.
“We fought to ensure our social justice mission was protected by Unilever when the company was acquired, but over the past several years, this has been eroded, and the company’s voice has been muted.
“We won’t be silent anymore. Authenticity has always been at the very heart of what we do, and stripping this away risks destroying the very value of Ben & Jerry’s. We urge the board and potential investors to rethink the inclusion of Ben & Jerry’s in Magnum’s future makeup and establish a Free Ben & Jerry’s.”
The new ice cream division, which will also comprise other brands such as Wall’s, is based in the Netherlands and will have a primary stock market listing in Amsterdam.
A spokesperson for The Magnum Ice Cream Company told Sky News: “Ben & Jerry’s is a proud part of The Magnum Ice Cream Company and is not for sale.
“We remain committed to Ben & Jerry’s unique three-part mission – product, economic and social – and look forward to building on its success as an iconic, much-loved business.”
Unilever has also been contacted for comment.
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