Ofgem has ordered Utilita to stop telling people they are not required to provide additional support credit to vulnerable prepayment meter (PPM) customers who are thought to be self-disconnecting.
The regulator issued the instruction as part a provisional order to Utilita concerning its compliance with a number of supply licence conditions.
Ofgem said the PPM specialist appears to be contravening and likely to contravene the standard licence conditions requiring suppliers to offer appropriate and timely additional support credit to vulnerable customers that they believe are self-rationing or self-disconnecting and then calculate repayment instalments each time they do so.
It said the supplier also appears to be contravening or likely to contravene the licence conditions requiring companies to offer relevant services to customers on the Priority Services Register (PSR) for vulnerable customers, in particular to ensure the functionality of their prepayment meters is “safe and reasonably practicable in all circumstances”.
As well as complying with these licence conditions, the provisional order requires Utilita to cease the use of call scripts which tell customers that the provision of additional support credit is not a licence requirement; take customers’ ability to pay into account for repayment plan calculations; and develop its additional support credit policy to ensure compliance with the aforementioned licence requirements.
It additionally states that by 30 September, Utilita must:
- Review its cases where customers are off supply to ensure they are offered additional support credit where required and assess whether prepayment meters remain a safe payment method in each circumstance
- Offer a credit mode meter to all supply dependent PSR customers that is safe and practicable in all circumstances
- Review all PSR customers’ requests for additional support credit, including to ensure their prepayment meter is safe and reasonably practicable in all circumstances
- Fully engage with Citizens Advice Bureau, Citizens Advice Scotland’s Extra Help Unit and Ombudsman Services to ensure all referral and off supply incidents are reassessed in line with the standard licence conditions
Lastly, Ofgem said Utilita must provide the regulator with an independent audit confirming its compliance with the other aspects of the provisional order by the end of October.
A spokesperson for Utilita said the supplier was “disappointed” with Ofgem’s decision to issue a provisional order, adding: “Only a few short weeks ago a senior staff member from Ofgem visited our contact centre and was full of praise for the way we help our customers, of which one in three are on our Priority Services Register.
“The regulator has also highlighted our Power Up app feature, which allows customers to self-serve additional support credit when they have no money, as one of the industry’s most innovative solutions in helping customers in financial difficulty.”
They continued: “The financial support we offer is extensive: in 2022 alone, we will provide financial assistance more than a million times to customers who desperately need our help.
“We are proud of the fact we have helped to shape industry best practice in helping vulnerable households. We have led the way in this space for more than a decade – largely thanks to our early adoption of smart technology – and will continue to do so.
“We are deeply committed to supporting our 800,000 customers through these hard times – constantly looking for new ways to help them – and will continue ongoing dialogue with Ofgem to address its concerns.”