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Fri, 15 May 2026

Fri, 15 May 2026 British Gas pays £20m over prepayment meter force-fitting scandal

The regulator say the energy supplier breached licence conditions aimed at protecting customers in vulnerable situations.

* British Gas has agreed to pay £20m into a redress fund and compensate customers after being investigated by Ofgem over the forced fitting of prepayment meters.
* The energy regulator found that British Gas had "failed to meet standards" when installing the meters, breaching licence conditions aimed at protecting vulnerable customers.
* In some cases, debt agents working for British Gas broke into homes of vulnerable customers without their permission to fit the meters.
* Suppliers including EDF, E.On and Scottish Power have also agreed to pay compensation after it was revealed that 40,000 customers had prepayment meters installed without consent between 2022-2023.
* Ofgem banned the practice of fitting prepayment meters without customer permission in high-risk households and is investigating other energy suppliers.
* British Gas has apologized for its actions and promised to improve its processes to prevent similar incidents in the future.
* The complete settlement package will cost up to £112m, including payments, compensation, and writing off customers' debt.
* Customers who are eligible for a payout will be contacted by Ofgem and do not need to take any action.