Are Pre-paid Energy Meters The Next Scandal Waiting To Happen?
To the four million pre-paid meter customers in the UK the principle behind them allows many to keep closer control of their finances and keep bills as low as possible, but is it really working?
Government MP Malcolm Wicks has come out fighting for those in this area of the market, suggesting that some are paying as much as 70% over and above the lowest rates available in the market. While the energy companies argue that many of these customers have financial problems, surely these are the people they should be trying to help, rather than squeezing the last penny from them?
Mr Wicks has asked the industry regulator Ofgem to look at the situation and report to parliament with a summary of what is happening and what can be done to level the playing field a little. The fact that rates can be 70% higher than others in the market, together with the underlying increase in energy costs has come together to push more people into poverty.
It is no joke when some people say they cannot afford to put the heating on, it is not joke when some of the elderly of today sit freezing during the winter. If the indications are true, how have the energy companies got away with it for so long?
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