Energy companies to pay out more than £70m to tens of thousands of customers over forced meter fittings

Tens of thousands of customers are set to receive up to £1,000 each and may possible see their debts written off. It comes after regulator Ofgem ruled that companies unfairly switched customers to upfront payments after falling behind on bills.

The scandal over the forced installation of prepayment meters was sparked around 2023, when energy prices were at an all-time high, in part due to the war in Ukraine. It was revealed that energy companies were either remotely switching smart meters of customers who had fallen behind on their bills into prepay mode, or agents had been entering the property directly to install prepayment meters.

British Gas came under fire after it was revealed that agents had forced their way into the homes of vulnerable people to install the prepayment meters.

Tim Jarvis, Ofgem's director general of markets, said: "Our priority has been to put things right for those who weren't treated properly, and ensure we don't see bad practice repeated.”

Meanwhile, Energy UK, a group which represents firms across the country, has said that forced fitting were a “necessary” resort in some cases. Chief executive Dhara Vyas said: "Involuntary installations have been a last – but necessary – resort for cases where repeated attempts to address debt with the customer through other means have been unsuccessful.

"It's bad for customers to fall further and further into arrears, and bad debt ultimately drives up the prices that is paid by all customers.”

Who is eligible for compensation payments?

The compensation payments have been reserved for affected customers eight different suppliers. These suppliers are Scottish power, EDF, E.ON, Octopus, Utility Warehouse, Good Energy, Tru Energy, and Ecotricity.

The compensation payments will begin from £40 and increase to £250 or £500 if processes were not followed correctly, with the payment depending on the severity of how they were treated by their supplier. The £1000 payments will be reserved for customers who had experienced “inappropriate installation”.

Affected customers have been advised that they may have already been contacted by their energy supplier but if not, the compensation payment would be paid directly into their customer account.