Sabira Hassan remembers the elderly couple being found dead in their home across the street. “I felt ashamed and embarrassed to think it had happened and we hadn’t noticed something was wrong.”
In October 2003, after forcing entry, police discovered the bodies of Gertrude Bates, 86, and her husband, George, 89, in the living room of the south London house they had shared for 64 years. George had died of hypothermia, while Gertrude, who had been a psychiatric patient for 20 years, had suffered a heart attack. They had been dead for some time before neighbours raised the alarm.
The shocking discovery came 13 weeks after British Gas had cut off the Bateses’ supply because of a £140.62 unpaid balance. The company was later criticised for failing to notify social services of the disconnection – it later cited data protection rules.
The couple’s estranged son, George Saxon, said his parents had not been struggling financially. Indeed, officers found £277 in cash on a table and £1,116 in a purse hidden in a shoe.
The tragedy prompted David Blunkett, home secretary at the time, to order a review which led to Ofgem introducing “safety net” guidelines for suppliers. Former Ofgem chairman Sir John Mogg also demanded that suppliers do more to protect vulnerable customers.
Now, concerns are mounting that those protections from disconnection may no longer be suitable. Household energy costs have tripled since Russia began throttling gas supplies to Europe last winter. As Britain braces for a cold snap this week, calls are mounting for ministers to introduce stronger safeguards, particularly for pensioners and those registered disabled.
Prepayment meters have become a particular focus. Ofgem data shows that every month, 10,000 people are forced by their supplier to switch from paying for energy on credit, usually direct debit, to paying upfront because they have fallen behind on their monthly payments.
Every month, magistrates courts are asked to approve thousands of warrants to allow suppliers or their debt collectors into homes to forcibly install a prepay meter. Some courts have approved hundreds of applications in a matter of minutes, which suggests applications are not being reviewed on a case-by-case basis. In a home with a smart meter, the switch can be made remotely, with no need for a warrant. In November, charities and MPs called for a ban on prepay meter installations made under court warrants.
Ruth London of charity Fuel Poverty Action says: “Imposition of a prepayment meter is disconnection by the back door. When you can’t top up the meter, everything clicks off, regardless of whether you are old, ill, or have a newborn baby.”
A landmark report published by Citizens Advice last week showed that 3.2 million people – equivalent to one person every 10 seconds – were left with cold and dark homes last year as they ran out of credit. The charity estimates that 600,000 people were made to switch to prepay in 2022, up from in 380,000 in 2021. Without a moratorium, it says, a further 160,000 will be switched before spring.
Under current rules, suppliers can threaten disconnection if consumers have not paid a bill by 28 days after the demand, though what they usually do is offer to install a prepay meter. However, between 1 October and 31 March they cannot disconnect a pensioner who lives alone or with other pensioners or children.
Anyone who lives with a pensioner or a person with disabilities or a long-term health condition should be offered support, such as a payment plan, before any winter disconnection. People with disabilities, long-term health conditions, severe financial problems or small children cannot be disconnected at any time of year.
Nonetheless, one energy industry executive admitted: “It can be so difficult to identify vulnerable people – accessing up-to-date lists and coordinating efforts with public bodies is tough.”
The Bates case also reignited a debate on the public’s right to an energy supply. Energy companies rely on the threat of disconnection as an incentive for consumers to pay.
“Suppliers need to think very carefully about how they treat people who are struggling to pay their bills,” says Martin Young, an Investec analyst. “There is always a debate about whether companies providing such an essential service should be nationalised.”
Ofgem said late last year that 17 suppliers needed to improve their treatment of vulnerable customers this winter.
The regulator found a catalogue of issues including: suppliers not reading the meters of vulnerable customers who could not do so themselves; suppliers setting debt repayment rates so high that vulnerable people disconnected themselves; and vulnerable customers not being able to get through on the phone to top up their meter or request additional support credit.
Citizens Advice data shows that more people found themselves unable to top up their prepay meter last year than in the previous six years combined. In November, 862 people who had been moved on to prepay meters sought advice from the charity, up from 749 in September, and 65% of those on prepay meters were disabled or had a long-term health condition, while 40% were single people with children.
Those on prepay meters are already in financial difficulties. When they go to top up, they may find their supplier is using the meter to reclaim previous debts, and that feeding in money still leaves them without gas or electricity.
Meanwhile, claiming this winter’s £400 government discount on energy bills is more complicated for those with a prepay meter. Those who pay monthly have the sum deducted from their bill, but those paying upfront require a voucher. Before Christmas, the Guardian calculated that 1.3m such vouchers were either lost, delayed or otherwise unredeemed.
Gillian Cooper, head of energy policy at Citizens Advice, said: “We’re seeing alarming cases of people with long-term health conditions and disabilities being moved on to a prepay meter. Energy companies have a duty to protect customers. Ofgem needs to take urgent action wherever there is evidence that suppliers aren’t following the rules.”
In Tooting, 20 years on, the Bateses’ candy-striped porch and glass front door have long been replaced. There is no visible memorial to the couple, but they haven’t been forgotten. “It was shocking,” said an elderly neighbour who said he often saw George taking his wife to appointments.
Hassan remembers Gertrude well: “She had these two fantastic lamps with pink shades and crystals. In the daytime she would put tea towels over them to protect them from the sunlight. They were a very sweet couple. During lockdown a group of ladies from our street identified an old person each and made sure they were OK for food and shopping. I guess it was a lesson learned.”
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