Simon Francis, co-ordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition is quoted as saying “Self-disconnection is as dangerous as disconnection by any other means, and energy firms need to be alert to the pain they are causing consumers by switching them to pre-payment meters without their active and informed consent.
Campaigners have recently called for a ban on pre-payment energy meter (PPM) installations through court warrants. This is spurred by concerns that energy companies are using them to disconnect vulnerable customers especially during the cost of living crisis.
According to the energy companies licence conditions they are meant to protect vulnerable people from having their energy disconnected over the winter period. However the organisation End Fuel Poverty Coalition have reported that transferring households on to expensive PPMs is resulting in people already in debt to effectively self disconnect their energy because they can’t afford to top up their meters.
Its also concerning that energy companies are using PPMs frequently as a method of revenue protection for themselves.
The End Fuel Poverty Coalition have also revealed that some magistrates courts are possibly awarding warrants to install pre payment meters after revealing that freedom of information requests shows that 187,000 applications for…
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Conspiracy of Kindness 