Energy companies have reportedly stopped reclaiming debt from prepayment customers struggling to pay their bills.

According to the Guardian, ScottishPower has stopped recovering money owed from people who have been moved onto prepayment meters in recent months amid the cost of living crisis.

OVO has already put in place a payment holiday for debt repayment for all prepayment meter customers until at least March.

Last week, the charity Citizens Advice called for a ban on the ‘forced’ move to prepayment as struggling households cannot afford top-up.

Under current rules, energy providers can push someone onto a prepayment meter when they can’t pay their bills.

Responding to a report published by the I newspaper, in a letter, the Chair of the House of Commons Justice Committee said: “We are troubled to hear that certain courts are processing warrants on a near industrial scale, with Portsmouth having granted 176,648 warrants between July 2021 and November 2022.”

ELN has contacted ScottishPower, British Gas, EDF, Octopus and OVO for comment.

Article source: https://www.energylivenews.com/2023/01/16/have-energy-suppliers-halted-debt-collection-from-prepayment-customers/