Energy firms given days to plan compensation for homes they broke into
Grant Shapps has given energy firms until Tuesday to come up with a plan to compensate customers whose homes they broke into.
The furious Business Secretary has also told watchdog Ofgem to get its act together after failing to haul British Gas over the coals for their appalling actions.
Companies now face making huge payouts for wrongfully installing prepayment meters in the homes of vulnerable customers.
British Gas has said sorry for monstering those with small children or medical conditions by sending debt collectors to break into homes to install prepayment meters.
But it admitted that of 1.5 million customers on the meters it had executed around 20,000 warrants to forcibly install them.
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Mr Shapps said: “I am appalled that vulnerable customers struggling with their energy bills have had their homes invaded and prepayment meters installed.
“There is a clear duty on suppliers to provide them with support. They need to refocus their efforts on the public who are at the receiving end of this abhorrent behaviour.“
Speaking on Sky News this morning, Mr Shapps said: "I want to make sure that this does not occur in Britain in modern Britain today, it's absolutely disgraceful no one should have the home invaded like that."
Mr Shapps said he was "appalled" (PA)And he said the regulator must now set up a new customer hotline for households to pass on stories of how they are being treated.
Mr Shapps added: “The regulator is too easily having the wool pulled over their eyes by taking at face value what energy companies tell them.
“They need to listen to customers to make sure this treatment of vulnerable consumers doesn’t happen again.”
Last week some suppliers announced they would suspend forced installations.
Now Mr Shapps has told them to share the number of warrants they’ve applied for in recent months and plans to publish the findings.
Ed Miliband, Labour’s Shadow Climate Secretary, said: “Grant Shapps is the do-nothing Business Secretary, who has sat on his hands in the face of the scandal of forced installation of prepayment meters, and simultaneously waves through energy companies making record profits at the expense of the British people.
“Thousands more families have had warrants issued for the forced installation of prepayment meters since Grant Shapps refused to act weeks ago.
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“Now, even after the scandal at British Gas and the millions disconnected by the back door, he still won’t adopt Labour’s call for a total and ongoing ban on the forced installation of prepayment meters until there is wholesale reform of a discredited, rotten and callous system.
Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has given energy firms a deadline (Getty Images)“All the while, the Government refuses a proper windfall tax and is willing to let energy companies rake in record profits at the expense of the British people, and is about to allow a 40% rise in average household bills in April.
“Only Labour can fix our broken energy system- ending the prepayment meter scandal, stopping bills going up this April with a proper windfall tax and taking the long term action we need to make Britain a clean energy superpower.”
An Ofgem spokesperson said: "“Our compliance reviews were launched to assess and drive-up standards across the industry. Companies are legally required to submit an honest representation of the facts and we required assessments to be signed off by their Boards. It is an extremely serious matter for any licensee to provide misleading or purposefully inaccurate information as part of these reviews.
“What is clear, as the Secretary of State has laid out, is that the picture presented by companies may not accurately reflect what is experienced by customers on the ground. Therefore, further reviews will cross examine what we have had reported to us with direct reports from customers and wider stakeholders, and potentially those involved in delivery of services. This will include finding new ways for customers to highlight their concerns to Ofgem."
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