Tens of thousands of Scots have been forced onto pay as you go energy meters against their will, new analysis from Citizens Advice Scotland suggests.
Around 23,936 people have been forced onto an electric prepayment meter and 12,000 onto a gas prepayment meter against their wishes, the charity estimates after analysing polling from YouGov.
Companies have also used a ‘back door’ approach, Citizen's Advice Scotland says, by switching smart meters into pay as you go meters.
Read more: Three energy firms permitted to return to forcible prepayment meter installation
In these cases around 17,952 have seen their electricity meter changed without their consent and around 12,000 for gas.
The analysis comes after energy regulator Ofgem gave approval for suppliers to restart forced installations.
Emma Jackson, social justice spokesperson for Citizens Advice Scotland, said: “The issue of forced installations of prepayment meters shocked and horrified people last year, and this research suggests the scale of the issue.
"As some suppliers get the green light to resume the practice many people, especially those behind on bills and struggling with energy debt, will be worried.
“We believe that the forced installation of these meters should be banned permanently. For many people it means energy is a luxury at the start of the month, and then something they have to ration or even go without the further away the get from pay day."
Read more: Inconsistent advice issued on prepayment meter warrants
Among the people who have been affected was a pensioner whose energy supplier switched him to a prepayment meter without warning.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) said a billing error left him with a significant debt, and he now pays up to £170 a fortnight to clear it - leaving him with little money to pay for anything else.
Another woman on Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment sought advice from CAS after her supplier informed her it had applied for a warrant to fit a prepayment meter in her home.
She offered to pay towards her arrears plus monthly usage, but her supplier rejected the offer and increased her monthly bill.
Read more: Prepayment meters seeing Scots go without food
Ms Jackson said: “Anyone who is worried about bills and money this winter should seek advice from the CAB network. For anyone on a prepayment meter struggling to top, don’t struggle alone. Advice and support is available.
“That doesn’t have to mean going to a CAB, our online advice pages are used by millions of people a year and we have interactive self-help tools to help people see where they could boost their incomes or cut their costs.
“The CAB network gets incredible results for people. Last year the average gain for someone who saw one after seeking advice was over £3,700. That can be absolutely life changing money this winter. We don’t judge, we just help.”
Read more: Vulnerable Scots living with rats and mould in 'worrying numbers'
The charity is encouraging people to seek help from the Citizens Advice network in a variety of ways. People can visit www.cas.org.uk/worried and from there they can choose an option that works for them.
This includes using self-help tools like moneymap.scot, specialist services like the Money Talk Team, and visiting a local Citizens Advice for one-to-one advice.
Last year Citizens Advice said the average gain from energy-related advice from across the network was more than £400. Advice gains generally for those who saw a benefit was more than £3,700.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel