Ofgem and Citizens Advice is seeking “candid and frank” feedback from prepayment meter (PPM) customers.
The call for evidence forms the next stage of evidence gathering as part of the regulator’s investigation into British Gas’s potential breaches of licence linked to the forced installation of PPMs.
The feedback will also be used to help form Ofgem’s Market Compliance Review on all other suppliers’ use of prepayment meters and the wider review of Ofgem’s current rules, regulations and guidance.
Feedback is sought from customers using traditional prepayment meters and pay-as-you-go smart meters, as well as people who choose to use prepayment meters and those with unpaid bills/energy debt who have had prepayment meters installed as a last resort by suppliers.
The Market Compliance Review, launched in January, will enable Ofgem to take robust action against suppliers who have fallen short of the standards expected.
Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley said: “We must work hand-in-glove with consumer groups to analyse and act on customer’s experiences not only what suppliers tell us. We need customers to give us frank and candid feedback about their experience of being moved to prepayment meters – good or bad.
“Households are facing unprecedented rises in energy bills, forcing many into energy debt and putting them at risk of being forced onto PPMs.
“That’s why Ofgem has set up a detailed market review into PPMs to examine if suppliers are complying with their licence obligations and where needed to toughen up protection for all vulnerable customers.”
He added: “Our rules are clear that installing forced PPMs must be a last resort where all other options have been exhausted. We won’t hesitate to take tough enforcement action if we find suppliers have not followed the rules.”
Dame Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, added: “Force-fitting prepayment meters can have devastating consequences, as our report on the issue made clear earlier this year. We’re working with Ofgem to make sure people’s experiences are heard. Through sharing their experiences, people can help expose wrongdoing and help the regulator develop new protections so this never happens again.”
People can submit their experiences through an online form which is being hosted on Citizens Advice’s website and is open until 4 May.
Senior figures from British Gas and Ofgem are set to appear before a parliamentary committee next week to give evidence in relation to forced PPM installs.