"Chris O'Shea, chief executive of Centrica, admitted serious failings had taken place. "What happened should never have happened, and I am sorry to the prepayment customers who were affected," he said. Tim Jarvis, chief executive of Ofgem, said the regulator's action had secured "a substantial package of redress, compensation, and debt write-off" for affected households."
Regulators concluded that vulnerable customers were wrongly forced onto prepayment meters without adequate safeguards. The investigation covered British Gas conduct from February 2018 to February 2023, with households claiming meters were installed under warrant despite serious concerns about vulnerability and affordability. The settlement requires British Gas to compensate affected customers and write off up to £70 million in debt owed by vulnerable households. The regulator said the company allowed an unacceptable number of customers to be failed by installing meters without proper consent or welfare checks. Centrica avoided a formal enforcement ruling by agreeing to an alternative action settlement, and it will review historical cases to potentially expand compensation eligibility to households affected between 2018 and 2021 who previously received no redress.
Read at London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]