Spark have forced a prepayment meter on me (via a smart meter) and im disabled

3876samf

"Your supplier can't make you have a prepayment meter if it wouldn't be safe or practical"


Ive been told the above advice, im not sure if it applies to me, basically I cant afford electricty let alone a pre payment meter or a prepayment meter that means i have to not only pay the electricty i canta fford but some off my debt too.



I have severe mental health problems so im not sure if this makes it impractical or unsafe to force me onto a prepayment meter.



Can they even do this? They switched me remotely via a smart meter.



I have suicidal tendancies I suffer with OCD, extreme anxiety depression, autism, and a few other problems, all mental health related.



What legally constitutes it being unsafe and impractical?



Is tehre anyway I can get my electricty back on for free until a later date where I can afford to pay them back? This is going to cause me to suffer alot and I might just end it all, lifes nto worth it anyway and this is just another thing that makes a terrible life even worse.

Benight

No one can be forced to provide you credit.

[Deleted User]

@3876samf
My thoughts would be to make an appointment with your local Citizens Advice Bureau as you need to look at the problem as a whole, not just the meter issue. They can offer advice and assistance for your particular circumstances and look at the bigger picture with you.

Former Spark Representative

Hi 3876samf

Sorry to hear about this.

It sounds like we've carried out a mode change to ensure that payments are being made towards your usage and any balance due, this is something we'd have sent you letters about, and we would have tried to resolve things without having to change your meter mode.

We aren't able to provide you with a free energy supply until you can afford to pay us back, but we can look at ways we can support you and we can let you know about any outside assistance which might be of benefit to you given your circumstances.

The suggestion from gsmlnx about making an appointment with Citizens Advice Bureau is a great one, and I'd suggest doing that if you can, they may even refer you over to a specialist team who could give you extra help getting your energy account sorted out.

In the meantime we'd like to see how we can support you so please drop us a line to the email address in our profile and we can have a look at this for you. We'd need confirmation of your full name, your address with postcode, and your telephone number.

Kind regards

Jenny
Customer Relations Team

PennineAcute

They get around that ruling by installing pre pay smart meters, therefore, as disabled, you can still top up by phone and/or online.

The thing is, they assume everyone is able to get online. I am 51 and quite computer litterate. My 55 year old neighbour is completely computer illiterate and my 75 year old neighbour tells me that she has survived without the internet for 75 years, so she is not about to start becoming reliant upon it.

Former Spark Representative

Hi PennineAcute

Not sure if you're with Spark or another supplier, but thought it would be worth mentioning, pay as you go smart meters do come with cards, so they can be topped up at the shop like traditional pre-payment meters.

Payment can also be made over the phone with a debit or credit card.

Kind regards

Jenny
Customer Relations Team

PennineAcute

It was more that companies get around the "Your supplier can't make you have a prepayment meter if it wouldn't be safe or practical" by installing smart meters prepay. For example, if I had to use a wheel chair, then a card only gas prepay meter would not be suitable for me. That then means that you are reliant upon being computer savvy or ensuring that you have a working phone line, or credit on your phone.

Was trying to tell the OP that as they have a smart meter, then "Your supplier can't make you have a prepayment meter if it wouldn't be safe or practical" would not work for them.

3876samf

PennineAcute wrote: »

It was more that companies get around the "Your supplier can't make you have a prepayment meter if it wouldn't be safe or practical" by installing smart meters prepay. For example, if I had to use a wheel chair, then a card only gas prepay meter would not be suitable for me. That then means that you are reliant upon being computer savvy or ensuring that you have a working phone line, or credit on your phone.

Was trying to tell the OP that as they have a smart meter, then "Your supplier can't make you have a prepayment meter if it wouldn't be safe or practical" would not work for them.

Not true there is no get around they still legally cant cut off a vulnerable person, not even by forcing a prepayment meter

Also

Heres help for otehrs in my situation

If you have a ‘smart meter’
If you have a smart energy meter in your home, your supplier could potentially disconnect your supply remotely without needing to access to your meter. However, before they do this, they must have:

contacted you to discuss options for repaying your debt, eg through a repayment plan
visited your home to assess your personal situation and whether this would affect you being disconnected, eg if you’re disabled or elderly
If they don’t do this and they try and disconnect you, make a complaint to your supplier.

PennineAcute

They have not remotely disconnected you.

So "f you have a ‘smart meter’
If you have a smart energy meter in your home, your supplier could potentially disconnect your supply remotely without needing to access to your meter. However, before they do this, they must have:

contacted you to discuss options for repaying your debt, eg through a repayment plan
visited your home to assess your personal situation and whether this would affect you being disconnected, eg if you’re disabled or elderly
If they don’t do this and they try and disconnect you, make a complaint to your supplier."

does not apply.

Have you responded to the letters saying you were in debt? I know certain disabilities can make this difficult.

PennineAcute

You ask, is there anyway you can get your electricity back on for free, until you can afford to start paying this back.

I could be wrong, but it seems that you may not know when you can afford to pay this back. So the above my never happen.

You also say that you cannot afford electricity, never mind the more expensive prepay charges. You need to contact CAB, so they can help you with your financial situation.

As someone who is on ESA for disability reasons myself, I know how hard it is to make ends meet. But ignoring the siiuation does not help. Keeping a credit meter, when you cannot afford the cheaper rates, is not going to help your situation, but make it worse.