British Gas, Scottish Power and OVO slammed over 'horrifying' prepayment meter installations

New figures have revealed that more than 94,000 prepayment meters were forcibly installed without customer consent last year.

According to the same government figures by firms to Energy Security secretary Grant Shapps, 70 per cent of the installation were done by British Gas, Scottish Power, and OVO energy. The three large energy companies fitted a total of 66,187 devices under a warrant.

Meanwhile, Scottish Power has been labelled "the worst offender" after forcing more than 24,300 meters into its customers' homes.

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Mr Shapps said: “Today’s figures give a clear and horrifying picture of just how widespread the forced installation of prepayment meters had become, with last year seeing an average of over 7,500 force-fitted a month.

“Prepayment meters are right for some people, so I do not want to ban them outright, but I do have concerns that companies have not been treating their customers fairly, over an already difficult winter during which the Government has tried to help families by paying around half the energy bill of the average household.

“After my calls for change, I’m pleased that suppliers have made their actions public and agreed to put a stop to forcing prepayment on to vulnerable customers for good – but this cannot happen again.

“I will be watching (industry regulator) Ofgem’s ongoing review closely so customers get the support they need – and those vulnerable consumers who have wrongly suffered forced installations get the justice they deserve in the form of redress.”

Minister for energy, consumers and affordability Amanda Solloway said: “Another increase in the number of energy bill support vouchers redeemed by customers is