Britain’s biggest energy supplier has been rebuked by the regulator for forcibly installing an unusually high number of pre-payment meters in homes.
British Gas obtained court warrants to install meters in the homes of about twice as many newly indebted customers as the industry average, Ofgem said.
The regulator said that the tactics were being used “too often” and that suppliers must use forcible installations only as a “last resort”.
Pre-payment meters have to be fed via keys or tokens topped up in shops and post offices before the customer can use gas or electricity. People using them are among the most vulnerable.
Some customers agree to have them installed to help them to manage their payments but suppliers can go to court to install them against their wishes.
British Gas, which is part of Centrica, has about 8 million household customers in the UK. Last year it obtained court warrants for 41,614 pre-payment meter installations, Ofgem figures show, 26 per cent more than in 2016. It accounted for almost half of all such installations across the industry, which rose to 84,230, from 80,594 in 2016.
Although British Gas is the largest supplier, Ofgem said that its installation rate was disproportionately high and it had installed meters in the homes of newly indebted customers at about twice the industry average rate.
Ofgem also highlighted high installation rates of Utility Warehouse, at about five times the industry average, and Ovo Energy, at about a third higher than the industry average, but said that their rates had improved since 2016.
A British Gas spokesman said: “Warrants are only ever issued as a last resort and we have seen a decrease in the numbers carried out this year.”