AN SNP MP has slammed the courts for “testing the waters” on prepayment meters after a district judge granted Scottish Power warrants to forcibly fit them in people’s homes after they were temporarily banned.
District Judge Samuel Goozee heard details of 20 applications from 124 made by debt collection agency Richburns on behalf of the energy firm at Berkshire Magistrates Court, sitting in Reading, on Thursday to establish if they had met the requirements set out in Ofgem’s updated code of practice.
Among the cases heard by the court on Thursday were several involving multiple attempts by Scottish Power to contact the holders of accounts with outstanding amounts of thousands of pounds.
The warrants cannot be used by Scottish Power until Ofgem has granted its own approval, but SNP MP Anne McLaughlin (below) said she was still “disappointed” to see the courts issue them.
She said: “No amounts of checks and balances from Ofgem will get around the fact that prepayment meters leave people paying more and at risk of self-disconnection when they can't afford to top up their meter.
“Worse still, people forget that the higher standing charges for prepayment meters stack up even when people do self-disconnect.
“It’s so disappointing to see the courts testing the water again with warrants for forced installations of prepayment meters.”
She added it was “utterly depressing” to be facing another winter where the UK Government has offered no extra support for the most vulnerable with energy bills and called for energy policy to be devolved.
“The lowering of the price cap is very misleading - with the Energy Bill Support Scheme no longer in place most people will still be paying more this winter and that is not okay. It's ridiculous,” McLaughlin added.
“We are an energy rich country and yet we're allowing suppliers and energy firms to make billions from inflated prices.
“We really need energy devolved to the Scottish Parliament, or better still our independence.”
Currently, no suppliers are carrying out involuntary installations and face severe penalties if they do unless they meet strict criteria set by Ofgem.
A voluntary code of practice governing the installation of prepayment meters, which all energy companies signed up to in April, was put in place after an investigation by The Times revealed evidence emerged of bad behaviour by suppliers severely affecting struggling customers.
The courts also came in for criticism after it emerged that batches of applications to forcibly install the meters had been approved.
