British Gas ignored watchdog's warnings about force-fitting pre-pay meters FIVE ... trends now

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British Gas defied warnings from its regulator five years ago about forcing its way into the homes of struggling customers to install pre-pay meters.

The energy giant is under fire after it emerged last week it had sent debt collectors to break into the homes of vulnerable customers who had fallen behind on bills.

But The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Ofgem, the industry watchdog, issued a strongly worded directive in 2018 to British Gas and other suppliers instructing them to install meters by force only as an 'absolute last resort'.

It said it had evidence that energy giants were 'using such tactics too often' and singled out British Gas as one of the worst offenders, forcibly installing meters twice as often as rival firms.

Ofgem director Rob Salter-Church said at the time he would take 'tough action' if British Gas failed to improve.