No ‘systemic’ issues at British Gas, however assessment finds 4 circumstances of wrongdoing
B
ritish Gas incorrectly compelled two clients onto prepayment meters final 12 months, in line with a assessment by the corporate which additionally discovered that one in all its contractors had behaved poorly in an additional two circumstances.
The firm stated that it could cease working with outdoors contractors to force-fit prepayment meters, after a assessment sparked by a Times investigation.
The assessment seemed into 321 circumstances, together with 49 flagged by the newspaper, discovering no “systemic” points, however warned that there have been some circumstances of wrongdoing and that different situations wanted to be assessed in additional depth.
Of the six circumstances which the newspaper included in its reporting, in two the British Gas contractor had acted in a method which “fell below the standard of conduct expected … when engaging with customers or operating in their homes.”
But the reviewers additionally stated that contractors at Arvato had not damaged British Gas’s guidelines, or the regulation, when becoming meters within the houses of these two clients.
It had, nonetheless, erred when putting in prepayment meters within the houses of two different clients.
“Given the personal circumstances of the customer involving physical vulnerabilities, an installation was not appropriate from the perspective of the requirement that an installation is ‘safe and reasonably practicable’,” British Gas’s inside report discovered.
It added that in each circumstances the client was pleased with the set up of a prepayment meter (PPM), however nonetheless the set up shouldn’t have gone forward.
“Whilst I understand why … the Arvato warrant officer formed a conclusion that the installation was reasonable, when taking account of the relevant guidance, I consider that these installations should not have proceeded,” the report stated.
On prime of those 4 circumstances the assessment stated there have been an additional three the place clients had been wrongly charged for the becoming of a warrant and three extra the place the contractor had erroneously utilized for a warrant to suit a prepayment meter.
The assessment additionally flagged an additional 40 circumstances with inadequate information, notes or the place the set up had occurred in an empty residence.
There was no proof of any wrongdoing in any of those 40 circumstances.
The assessment discovered:
– Two circumstances the place “an installation was not appropriate”– Two different circumstances which “fell below the standard of conduct expected”– Three circumstances the place “the costs of applying for and executing a warrant were erroneously applied”– Thee different circumstances the place “warrants were erroneously applied for”– 13 circumstances “contained insufficient data in the records”– 13 different circumstances the place the agent had not correctly recorded how they mentioned a buyer’s vulnerability with them– 14 circumstances “where the customer was not present in the home at the time of the installation”
Chris O’Shea, the boss of British Gas proprietor Centrica, stated: “I was deeply concerned when I saw the way some of our prepayment customers were treated earlier this year.
“It’s not how I want us to do business and I’d like to take this opportunity once again to say how sorry I am and to apologise to anyone involved in cases where our actions fell short of the high standards we set ourselves.
“I’m reassured that the investigation found no systemic issues with the treatment of prepayment customers, but it did highlight areas where we can, and should, do better.
“We’re already implementing those changes and I hope the action we are taking to improve our approach shows our commitment to doing everything we can to support our vulnerable customers.”
British Gas stated it could completely cease working with third-party contractors to force-fit prepayment meters in clients houses, to provide it extra oversight over the method.
The report additionally urged ministers to go new legal guidelines to permit the Department of Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs to share extra knowledge with power suppliers on clients who’re bodily or financially weak.
“Absent these measures, suppliers will continue to encounter difficulties in determining the appropriate course of action in situations such as those described in the case studies in this chapter,” it stated.
The report additionally really helpful that anybody force-fitting a prepayment meter for British Gas ought to in future be required to put on a physique digital camera.
In the previous they’ve recorded audio, however not video.
It really helpful compensation for wronged clients.
The report stated that the 20,469 British Gas clients who had a prepayment meter force-fitted final 12 months, owed a median of £1,255 and had been in debt for a median of 449 days earlier than a prepayment meter was fitted.