British Gas is to resume force-fitting prepayment meters this winter, just MONTHS after paying a record £112m settlement

Ofgem has ended a near-four-year ban on British Gas force-fitting prepayment meters, allowing installations to resume this winter — the worst possible timing for households facing some of the steepest energy bills seen since 2023. The regulator moved after British Gas completed checks showing it had met strengthened protections for vulnerable customers.

The original scandal, exposed in 2023, involved British Gas debt agents forcing entry into homes of people with severe mental illness, physical disabilities and a mother with a newborn.

Forced fittings in homes with children or residents over 75 remain banned, but all other households in arrears can now be targeted.

Of the major energy suppliers, British Gas was the sole one still awaiting restoration of its permission — the industry-wide moratorium covering rivals had already been lifted more than a year ago.