--- title: "British Gas to pay £90m over pre-payment meter scandal" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/286524047.md" description: "British Gas will pay over £90m in fines and compensation for force-fitting prepayment meters in vulnerable customers' homes. The energy supplier, owned by Centrica, will pay £20m to Ofgem and write off £70m in energy debt. An investigation revealed that debt collectors acted improperly, leading to outrage among MPs and consumer rights advocates. Ofgem has banned the installation of prepayment meters in high-risk households without consent. British Gas has apologized and committed to improving its processes." datetime: "2026-05-15T07:19:40.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/286524047.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286524047.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/286524047.md) --- # British Gas to pay £90m over pre-payment meter scandal British Gas will pay out more than £90m in fines and compensation after it force-fitted prepayment meters in vulnerable customers’ homes. The energy supplier, which is owned by FTSE 100 firm Centrica, has agreed to pay £20m to Ofgem after the regulator found it had breached its licence conditions and fallen short of the standards required. In addition to the fine, British Gas will also provide compensation to those affected and write off £70m in energy debt for vulnerable customers. The redress follows a three-year investigation into British Gas by the energy regulator. Ofgem began examining the company’s practices after an investigation by The Times found that debt collectors acting on behalf of British Gas were reported to be entering homes and force-fitting meters even when they knew people had “extreme vulnerabilities”. The revelations caused outrage among MPs and consumer rights campaigners, as well as government ministers. Prepayment meters can be forcibly installed as a last resort if a customer cannot agree on repayment terms with their energy supplier. However, British Gas said in 2023 that an internal investigation uncovered at least 13 cases where Arvato employees conducted force-fittings without properly explaining how customer vulnerabilities had been considered. Tim Jarvis, chief executive of Ofgem, said: “It is clear that British Gas fell short in its treatment of an unacceptable number of vulnerable customers who had a PPM installed without consent, and it’s right that they’ve taken action to put things right. “The installation of prepayment meters under warrant should only be a last resort, with rigorous checks to ensure debt is recovered lawfully, proportionately and safely British Gas said it will conduct a review of customer records between 2018 and 2021 and provide compensation to any of those affected. Chris O’Shea, chief executive of parent company Centrica, said: “What happened should never have happened, and I am sorry to the prepayment customers who were affected. When we get things wrong, we make them right. “When these issues came to light in 2023, we apologised, stopped the activity immediately and took rapid action to improve our processes and change how we engage with customers in debt, particularly those in vulnerable situations.” Ofgem has since banned the practice of installing prepayment meters in high-risk households without a customer’s permission. Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: “The results of the Ofgem investigation are truly shocking. They have confirmed that British Gas knew about these failings as far back as 2018, was warned again in 2021, and still did not take adequate action “That means the firm knowingly forced prepayment meters onto customers, potentially including those with disabilities and families with young children.” ### Related Stocks - [CNA.UK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CNA.UK.md) ## Related News & Research - [Ofgem Says British Gas To Pay 20 Mln Stg Into Ofgem's Voluntary Redress Fund](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286517095.md) - [Centrica's (CNA) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank Of Canada](https://longbridge.com/en/news/285942868.md) - [UK FINANCE MINISTER REEVES ON ENERGY: ESTABLISHING A 350-MILLION-POUND CRITICAL CHEMICAL RESILIENCE FUND](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287212601.md) - [UK Finance Minister Reeves, on energy: We stand ready to act if market conditions worsen later this year](https://longbridge.com/en/news/287212577.md) - [X agrees to British crackdown on hate speech and militant content, regulator says](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286547886.md)