Following the report the national charity launched a Fair play for Prepay campaign today calling for suppliers, the Government and Ofgem to look into greater protection for those on prepayment meters.
The new report called ‘Topping-up or dropping out’ suggests that as much as one in every six prepayment meter customers effectively self-disconnect because of high costs, difficulty topping up or faulty meters. Children live in half of the households that have prepayment meters, it added.
The campaign is calling for better customer service and support, with easier top ups; a fair choice of tariffs and a smarter prepay offers.
From today, energy firms cannot cut off vulnerable customers until 31 March to ensure that people are able to heat their homes through severe cold spells. But the protection does not extend to pay-as-you-go energy customers.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Energy companies are doing the right thing by putting a freeze on disconnections for vulnerable households but industry, Government and the regulator need to look at how this can be extended to prepayment consumers too.”
But she added, “Self-disconnection is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to problems faced by prepayment consumers. Higher costs, a small or non-existent choice of tariffs and inconvenient ways of topping up are some of the extra challenges faced by pay-as-you-go energy consumers. That’s why we’ve launched the Fair play for prepay campaign to help get a better deal for these households.
Industry group Energy UK urged customers to contact their supplier before opting to self-disconnect.
“The CAB has highlighted this problem and the big message, loud and clear, is that anyone who is worried about paying for their electricity or gas should get in touch with their supplier immediately. Don’t disconnect, call your supplier,” the group said in a statement.