British Gas prepayment meter customers left without gas and electricity after it switches top-up system
VULNERABLE British Gas customers with prepayment meters were left without gas and electricity this week due to a change to its top-up system.
The energy giant switched from Paypoint to Payzone on January 1 - cutting the number of locations down by 14,000.
This left unprepared British Gas customers unable to top up their energy meters on New Year's Day.
Some complained that they couldn't find a Payzone location nearby or the terminal was not yet set up for British Gas payments.
Given the roll-out on New Year's Day, the British Gas customer service was also closed as well as Post Office branches.
Customers could previously top up at 28,000 Paypoint locations and 11,500 local Post Offices, but this has now dropped to 13,000 Payzone locations and the same number of Post Offices.
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Colin Williams, 55, who's looking after his late father's home in St Helens, Merseyside, told The Sun he was left without heating yesterday evening as Payzone didn't work in shops.
Instead he was forced to go to a Post Office this morning.
He said: "It appears that most outlets have not been prepared for this change, as many still have old systems which won't accommodate chip and pin features.
"Why do this in winter when everyone relies so much on fuel?"
Another disabled mum Kelly Troke, 37, was left without heating and hot water in her Portsmouth home, which she shares with her 14-year-old daughter, she told The Sun.
She says she wasn't notified about the change, and was then told that the only shop near her - a 10-minute drive away - can't top up gas cards.
She added that her mobility issues get worse by cold weather, but managed to top up today after going to three different shops.
Many British Gas customers have also taken to social media to vent their frustration, with one user tweeting: "I have a five week old baby and just ran out of gas.
"No PayPoint shops top up BG anymore, been to three PayZone shops and none are set up to top up British Gas yet.
"Your website is down, your call centre is closed. Literally no way for me to get gas. Disgusting."
While another tweeted: "Don’t you love it when British Gas swap their contracted services from Paypoint to Payzone on the worst day of the year for places not to be open and long and behold I can’t even get any gas!!"
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British Gas says it wrote to all customers in December to inform them about the change.
It added that the services were dual-running between December and January, in order to allow customers to find their nearest top-up location.
In a separate change, prepayment meter users are now also required to spend at least £5 when topping up their card, up from £1 previously.
A spokesperson for British Gas said: "We chose to move our service to Payzone because it means that most of our customers will now be closer to a top up point.
"Furthermore, Payzone will work with us to ensure new locations are added in areas where our customers need it."
Roughly 5.9million Brits have a prepayment energy meter, according to uSwitch, which requires customers to buy credit and add it to their account before they can use it.
They're more expensive than standard meter energy plans, yet some customers may find themselves blocked from leaving as they often come with credit checks.
Peter Earl, head of energy at Compare the Market, said "vulnerable customers" are most likely to be affected by British Gas’ decision.
He added: "Customers on a prepayment meter should check whether they are able to switch to another provider, which could offer meaningful cost savings."
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