Courts ordered to stop processing PPM warrants

Magistrates in England and Wales have been ordered to stop processing applications by energy suppliers to forcefully install prepayment meters (PPMs) “with immediate effect”.

On Monday (6 February) Lord Justice Edis, the senior presiding judge of England and Wales, issued the guidance to magistrates courts, citing the recent decision by Ofgem to ask all retailers to stop warrant activity following the major allegations made against a contractor working for British Gas.

In the guidance, Lord Justice Edis said that in issuing warrants for suppliers to forcefully install PPMs magistrates “must act proportionately and with regard to the human rights of the people affected, particular any people with vulnerability”.

He added: “In carrying out this assessment, they have reasonably placed reliance on the assurance made by all applicants on oath that the supplier and their agents have complied with the standards set by Ofgem, the energy regulator.

“However it has now come to light that Ofgem has become sufficiently concerned at the operation of suppliers as to ask all energy companies to suspend forced installation of pre-payment meters, to ask all suppliers to review their activities, and to carry out a comprehensive investigation into one supplier.

“In light of that, applications for warrants of entry for the purpose of installing a pre-payment meter should, with immediate effect, cease to be listed and no further such applications are to be determined until further notice.”

Retailers are still entitled to apply to a magistrate to make an application, but they must “satisfy the court in detail as to the integrity of their procedures, in particular relating to the vulnerability of occupiers”.

Suppliers will still be able to pursue warrants to fit a PPM for commercial energy users, or in cases involving energy theft or tampering.

Any decision to lift the ban will depend on the progress of Ofgem’s investigation and any other developments, for example any review of the legislation by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

It follows the explosive findings of an undercover investigation into Arvato Financial Solutions, the company British Gas parent Centrica uses to pursue debts.

It is reported by The Times that British Gas customers who have had PPMs forcefully installed in recent weeks “include a woman in her fifties described as ‘severe mental health bipolar’, a woman who ‘suffers with mobility problems and is partially sighted’ and a mother whose ‘daughter is disabled and has a hoist and [an] electric wheelchair’”.

The findings of the investigation have been widely condemned, with BEIS secretary Grant Shapps saying he is “horrified” and that the practices were “abhorrent”, while Ofgem has launched an investigation into the matter.