Bastards...

British Gas admits agents break into struggling customers' homes

The boss of British Gas owner Centrica has said he is horrified that debt collectors have broken into customers' homes to fit prepayment energy meters.

The Times found debt agents working for British Gas expressed excitement at putting these meters in the homes of vulnerable people behind on bills.

"This happened when people were acting on behalf of British Gas. There is nothing that can be said to excuse it," Chris O'Shea told the BBC.

The firm will stop such installations.

The suspension follows an undercover investigation by the Times whose reporter went with agents working for Arvato Financial Solutions - a company used by British Gas to pursue debts - to the home of a single father with three children.

After establishing the property was unoccupied, the reporter observed the agents work with a locksmith to force their way in and install a prepayment meter.

The debt agent is reported to have said: "This is the exciting bit. I love this bit."

Mr O'Shea told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The contractor that we've employed, Arvato, has let us down but I am accountable for this.

"This happened when people were acting on behalf of British Gas. There is nothing that can be said to excuse it."

Others who experienced similar treatment, according to materials seen by The Times, include a mother whose daughter is disabled and a woman described as having mobility problems.

[bbc.co.uk]