Citizens Advice Bucks cautions against prepayment meters
This comes after Ofgem criticised some energy firms over not supporting people on the "pay as you go" meters
Citizens Advice in Buckinghamshire is warning people about the potential risks around prepayment meters.
Energy firms need to support the vulnerable
This comes as energy firms are being told they need to do more to support vulnerable people ahead of a challenging winter.
Ofgem, the energy sector's watchdog, considered information submitted by 17 of the biggest domestic energy suppliers and found that five had "severe weaknesses".
These weaknesses including failing to undertake free gas safety checks for customers and failing to support those on prepayment meters.
According to Ofgem, suppliers received their ratings in October and "are taking swift action to make the improvements needed."
Concerns around prepayment meters
Craig Glynn is Head of Service of Citizens Advice Buckinghamshire, he says there are risk factors with prepayment meters.
"The costs are typically higher than they would be and the consumption rate is higher than it would be on a traditional metering system - whether that's a smart meter or otherwise.
"Another difficulty or challenge that people on these meters face is, they're typically from vulnerable backgrounds and so there can be issues with just the logistics of maintaining them.
"For example, topping up their meter can be problematic if they have a mobility problem, which a lot of vulnerable people will have either due to their physical or mental health. They struggle with going and getting these top ups, especially when they're unplanned."
He concludes: "Sometime you top up your meter and the money vanishes a lot more quickly than you were anticipating and that can be because you're paying back arrears (money that is owed and should've been paid earlier) which have piled up over a period of time.
"So they deduct an amount from it, which can leave you without sufficient energy to heat your home during the day."
What is a prepayment meter?
If a home has a prepayment meter it means you pay for gas and electricity before you buy it - like a pay as you go sim card. As you use gas and electricity, the credit on the meter is used up.
Most prepayment meters use a key or a smart card, though some still take actual money or tokens.
To put credit on a prepayment key or card, you have to take them to a supermarket, shop, or post office. Though some energy companies allow people to top up online too.
There's also a certain amount of emergency credit which means you can keep running the gas and electricity even if you've run out of credit. Though any credit that is spent during this emergency period is reclaimed after you top up again.
"Seek advice"
Craig says it's important to get advice before switching to a prepayment meter: "Seek advice from an organisation such as Citizens Advice. Explore resources that are on our website which discuss the pros and cons of these.
"There's a lot of information out there but if you're not able to digitally get hold of it, I would suggest getting on the telephone or popping by."