- Graham Stuart met Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, which owns British Gas.
- British Gas has announced that it will stop applying for court warrants to enter customers’ homes and fit prepayment meters.
The energy minister has expressed “horror” at revelations about a British Gas contractor allegedly breaking into vulnerable customers’ homes as the market watchdog Ofgem warned all suppliers against forcibly installing prepayment meters. Graham Stuart met Chris O’Shea, the chief executive of Centrica, which owns British Gas. He demanded urgent answers to issues raised by a Times investigation into the firm’s practices, prompting ministerial fury.
Stuart expressed horror after the Times alleged that Arvato Financial Solutions, used by British Gas to pursue debts, had broken into homes to fit prepayment meters even when there were signs that young children and people with disabilities lived there. British Gas customers who have had their meters fitted by force recently included a mother whose “daughter is disabled and has a hoist and [an] electric wheelchair” and a woman in her 50s described in job notes as having “severe mental health bipolar”. The Minister “made it clear this kind of behaviour is unacceptable”.
O’Shea has been asked to provide urgent answers on issues, including the details of the cases, how the company will ensure it will never happen again, and how those affected can be identified and compensated. Earlier, the Centrica chief executive had said: “Protecting vulnerable customers is an absolute priority. The allegations around our third-party contractor Arvato are unacceptable and we immediately suspended their warrant activity.” British Gas has announced that it will stop applying for court warrants to enter customers’ homes and fit prepayment meters.