Three years on from the scandal that exposed the forced installation of prepayment meters into people’s homes, a new year-long investigation by The Standard reveals that energy companies are still relying on closed magistrates’ court hearings to secure warrants against households with unpaid bills, often without customers present or represented.
The investigation also found that one magistrate examined ten warrant applications in detail as a ‘sample’ which would then determine the fate of other applications in the batch. But while two of the sample were found to breach procedural rules and withdrawn, two new applications that passed scrutiny were added and the remaining warrants were approved in bulk without further checks.
This implies that no effort was made to establish whether similar failings affected the rest of the applications.
In November 2023, when the new court process was being developed, End Fuel Poverty Coalition wrote [pdf] to Ministers to raise concerns that a “cloak of secrecy” appeared to have remained in place.
Following media reports about the behaviour of one firm, the letter set out that “the same old magistrates’ practices seem to have continued.”
“Distant hearings, nodding through batch applications, not checking for vulnerability and a failure to inform customers that they are due to have their case heard. No one can be confident of getting justice under the current system.”
In response to the latest investigation by the Standard, a spokesperson for the End Fuel Poverty Coalition commented:
“This investigation exposes a deeply troubling practice where people struggling with unaffordable energy bills are condemned through the courts out of sight and without a voice.
“At a time when energy bills remain far higher than before the crisis, it is wrong that households are facing secret hearings and forced entry instead of meaningful support. This is not a failure of the individual customers, it is a failure of our energy system.
“It’s time to stop criminalising energy debt and allowing these cases to be pursued through a court system which is clearly unfit for the purpose. Instead, we need action to fix the causes: reforming energy pricing so bills are affordable, providing targeted financial support for households in cold, damp homes, and rolling out insulation and energy efficiency upgrades starting with those most at risk.
“No one should fear court action or forced entry simply because they cannot afford to heat their home.”