7:29:15 > 7:29:19Millions of people in the UK can't afford to keep warm in winter.
7:29:19 > 7:29:22Sometimes, behind these closed doors, no-one really,
7:29:22 > 7:29:25really knows your tears and your frustrations.
7:29:28 > 7:29:31Their struggles are usually hidden from view.
7:29:31 > 7:29:34So that's £12 in two days!
7:29:34 > 7:29:36Are you telling me this is right?
7:29:36 > 7:29:37This isn't right.
7:29:39 > 7:29:43We've spent the winter with those really feeling the cold.
7:29:43 > 7:29:46If it was warm in the bedroom, I'd be in there now.
7:29:46 > 7:29:50But I daren't go in, because I'd end up with pneumonia.
7:29:50 > 7:29:53And we reveal the shocking death toll caused by
7:29:53 > 7:29:55Britain's cold-homes scandal.
7:29:55 > 7:29:58Last year, we estimate about 9,000 people
7:29:58 > 7:30:00died as a result of living in a cold home.
7:30:00 > 7:30:029,000 people.
7:30:26 > 7:30:29We all feel the cold when the temperature drops.
7:30:29 > 7:30:34But for some people, winter weather can be a matter of life and death.
7:30:34 > 7:30:37The elderly are most at risk.
7:30:37 > 7:30:41In the UK, one in ten pensioners is officially in fuel poverty.
7:30:41 > 7:30:44That means they can't afford to heat their homes.
7:30:46 > 7:30:47Hi, Olive, I'm Datshi.
7:30:47 > 7:30:49Pleased to meet you.
7:30:49 > 7:30:52The Government says it spends £2 billion a year helping
7:30:52 > 7:30:55pensioners like Olive Naismith pay their fuel bills.
7:30:55 > 7:30:57Put your hands round the cup.
7:30:57 > 7:30:59It's right warm.
7:30:59 > 7:31:02'But Olive still can't keep warm on her state pension.'
7:31:02 > 7:31:05I've got a cold most of the winter.
7:31:05 > 7:31:06I'm fed up with them,
7:31:06 > 7:31:10because I'm never free from it in the winter months, and I'm cold.
7:31:10 > 7:31:13Me hands are cold all the time, and my feet.
7:31:13 > 7:31:16I can't walk some days with my feet.
7:31:19 > 7:31:23Olive can only afford to heat one room of her bungalow.
7:31:23 > 7:31:26She's moved her bed into the living room so she can live
7:31:26 > 7:31:28and sleep in a single room.
7:31:30 > 7:31:32It's strange, me bed being in the lounge.
7:31:33 > 7:31:36If it were warm in the bedroom, I'd be in there now.
7:31:36 > 7:31:38That's that done.
7:31:38 > 7:31:41But I daren't go in, because I'd end up with pneumonia.
7:31:43 > 7:31:45SHE SNIFFS
7:31:45 > 7:31:49This is the coldest weekend of the winter so far.
7:31:49 > 7:31:51It's starting to go cold now.
7:31:52 > 7:31:57I'm in the lounge with the fire on, and you go into the kitchen
7:31:57 > 7:32:02or to the toilet, and you can feel how freezing it is.
7:32:02 > 7:32:05It's going to be cold tonight, really cold.
7:32:14 > 7:32:17It wasn't supposed to be this way.
7:32:17 > 7:32:21David Amess thought he had found a solution 16 years ago.
7:32:22 > 7:32:26Have you seen the impact that fuel poverty can have on people?
7:32:26 > 7:32:27Well, I have.
7:32:27 > 7:32:30It's not only some families being in despair
7:32:30 > 7:32:34because they can't afford to heat their properties.
7:32:34 > 7:32:37But I had a constituent die of hypothermia.
7:32:37 > 7:32:41In this day and age, for someone to die of fuel poverty is
7:32:41 > 7:32:43totally unacceptable.
7:32:43 > 7:32:48The Conservative MP campaigned for fuel poverty to be ended by law.
7:32:48 > 7:32:51In the year 2000, Parliament agreed.
7:32:51 > 7:32:55Fuel poverty would be stopped by 2016.
7:32:55 > 7:32:59Year after year, governments have reassured me that fuel poverty
7:32:59 > 7:33:04would be eradicated, and now we find ourselves in this situation
7:33:04 > 7:33:08that we're coming up to the target date and it hasn't been met.
7:33:08 > 7:33:11We don't want words, we want action.
7:33:17 > 7:33:20According to the Government's own figures,
7:33:20 > 7:33:23there are still more than five million people
7:33:23 > 7:33:25in fuel poverty today.
7:33:25 > 7:33:27The promise has been broken.
7:33:28 > 7:33:32Nobody from the Government would be interviewed, but it says it's
7:33:32 > 7:33:34requiring energy companies to...
7:33:37 > 7:33:39And that...
7:33:40 > 7:33:41..has already been spent...
7:33:44 > 7:33:47The Government says the poorest in our society get...
7:33:54 > 7:33:56That's little comfort for the millions
7:33:56 > 7:33:58still feeling the cold today.
7:33:58 > 7:34:01They can be left with some tough choices.
7:34:04 > 7:34:07If I checked it every day, I'd panic.
7:34:07 > 7:34:10So every couple of days, I check, realise how much I've used,
7:34:10 > 7:34:14how much I've got left and then I kind of work my budget,
7:34:14 > 7:34:18what I've got left then, around the electric and the gas.
7:34:21 > 7:34:26Maria relies on temporary work and lives on a low income.
7:34:26 > 7:34:30She regularly has to choose between her heating and her electricity.
7:34:30 > 7:34:35The heating, it just goes off, and you'll go cold.
7:34:35 > 7:34:38But everything will go in darkness if it's your electricity gone.
7:34:38 > 7:34:41And you know then what you should have chosen...
7:34:41 > 7:34:44and it's most definitely the electric!
7:34:44 > 7:34:46SHE CHUCKLES
7:34:47 > 7:34:49Not much in my fridge at the moment.
7:34:49 > 7:34:54A bit of chilli that I made, and I've got some smoky bacon.
7:34:54 > 7:34:58And sometimes it's a choice between eating and staying warm.
7:34:58 > 7:35:01You'll go without, and then you'll just find yourself
7:35:01 > 7:35:04going into a pattern where you're skipping.
7:35:04 > 7:35:06And then you're skipping again.
7:35:07 > 7:35:09Maria's far from alone.
7:35:09 > 7:35:13An estimated 12 million people across the UK skip meals
7:35:13 > 7:35:15to pay their energy bills.
7:35:17 > 7:35:20Sometimes, behind these closed doors,
7:35:20 > 7:35:23no-one really, really knows your tears and your frustrations.
7:35:33 > 7:35:38The Government used to have a simple definition of fuel poverty.
7:35:38 > 7:35:41If you needed to spend more than 10% of your income
7:35:41 > 7:35:43heating your home, you were fuel poor.
7:35:44 > 7:35:47But when it became clear the Government would miss
7:35:47 > 7:35:52the 2016 target to end fuel poverty, they changed the definition.
7:35:54 > 7:35:58This is the way the Government used to measure fuel poverty.
7:35:58 > 7:36:00You can see it's going up and up.
7:36:00 > 7:36:03The new measure is this one here,
7:36:03 > 7:36:07and you can see that this measure doesn't change at all.
7:36:09 > 7:36:13So the Government tells us fuel poverty hasn't increased at all.
7:36:13 > 7:36:16But if they hadn't changed the definition,
7:36:16 > 7:36:18the numbers would be shocking.
7:36:19 > 7:36:24Unfortunately, today, approximately 20% of the population,
7:36:24 > 7:36:28we estimate, are fuel poor - one in five households.
7:36:31 > 7:36:34There are now far more people in fuel poverty than
7:36:34 > 7:36:37when Parliament voted to eradicate it.
7:36:37 > 7:36:41So instead of fuel poverty going down over that period, it's doubled.
7:36:47 > 7:36:50The Government says the old measure...
7:36:52 > 7:36:54.."who were reasonably well off".
7:36:57 > 7:37:00The new measure was introduced following an...
7:37:04 > 7:37:05It's...
7:37:05 > 7:37:07..helps...
7:37:07 > 7:37:10and gives a "more sophisticated understanding of fuel poverty".
7:37:12 > 7:37:17But many single pensioners like Olive are no longer being counted.
7:37:17 > 7:37:21Even though she is sleeping in her living room to keep warm,
7:37:21 > 7:37:24she's not classified by the Government as fuel poor.
7:37:25 > 7:37:28They ought to come and live with me for a week.
7:37:28 > 7:37:32Tell them to come around, I've got a spare bed for them.
7:37:32 > 7:37:33SHE CHUCKLES
7:37:33 > 7:37:35Yeah.
7:37:35 > 7:37:37Oh, dear.
7:37:39 > 7:37:43Yes, they don't understand, love. There's a lot of struggling.
7:37:43 > 7:37:44A hell of a lot.
7:37:49 > 7:37:52Olive is a classic example of the problems with the new measure
7:37:52 > 7:37:54the Government has introduced.
7:37:54 > 7:37:59Despite the fact she has to spend a lot of her pension on heating
7:37:59 > 7:38:02just that one room, she's no longer classified as fuel poor.
7:38:02 > 7:38:05That seems really strange, that she's not being officially
7:38:05 > 7:38:08- counted in the figures. - She is clearly fuel poor,
7:38:08 > 7:38:12but under the new statistical definition she's excluded.
7:38:16 > 7:38:18Oh, look, there's some ducks.
7:38:18 > 7:38:20- Ducky!- Ducky!
7:38:20 > 7:38:22It's not just pensioners who are struggling.
7:38:22 > 7:38:24Ducky, here you go!
7:38:24 > 7:38:28More than a million working families are officially in fuel poverty.
7:38:28 > 7:38:30Look, that one's saying hello with its tail.
7:38:30 > 7:38:32LAUGHTER
7:38:35 > 7:38:38No matter how hard we work, you just feel like you're banging
7:38:38 > 7:38:42your head against a brick wall, going round and round in circles.
7:38:45 > 7:38:48Hayley works at the University of Brighton
7:38:48 > 7:38:50and her partner, Dan, is a builder.
7:38:50 > 7:38:53But they're still struggling to keep warm.
7:38:53 > 7:38:55January is usually the worst
7:38:55 > 7:38:58because the bills are due in, and then it gets cold,
7:38:58 > 7:39:01and then you've got to try and put money on the gas and electric.
7:39:01 > 7:39:04If I've got the money to put more on, then fine.
7:39:04 > 7:39:07If I haven't, then it's just put extra layers on
7:39:07 > 7:39:08and hope for the best.
7:39:10 > 7:39:13I don't like it in the winter when it's freezing cold at night
7:39:13 > 7:39:17and it feels like someone's rubbing ice on my nose.
7:39:17 > 7:39:19- You wanted the Hello Kitty one? - Yeah.- Well, sorry,
7:39:19 > 7:39:21you can't have it.
7:39:21 > 7:39:22Oh, what, has it gone funny?
7:39:22 > 7:39:25- It's all mouldy.- Oh, yeah, I don't mind.
7:39:25 > 7:39:28Like many people living in cold houses,
7:39:28 > 7:39:31Hayley's family are battling damp.
7:39:31 > 7:39:34It's a combination that's bad for their health.
7:39:34 > 7:39:39The worst bit is in the corner above her bed where she sleeps.
7:39:39 > 7:39:42I know it's not good for her.
7:39:42 > 7:39:45Other than cleaning it, what else can I do?
7:39:48 > 7:39:52I get really poorly sometimes and get a chesty cough.
7:39:52 > 7:39:57The roof gets really damp and I start...
7:39:57 > 7:40:00I'm up all night coughing and I don't like it.
7:40:00 > 7:40:03I'd like to move to a house that doesn't have any
7:40:03 > 7:40:05mould in the bedrooms or anywhere.
7:40:06 > 7:40:09That would be better, really!
7:40:16 > 7:40:19The cold and damp has also affected Hayley's son.
7:40:21 > 7:40:24He's already had several chest infections
7:40:24 > 7:40:27and had to be rushed to hospital for one of them.
7:40:27 > 7:40:31I don't want my children to grow up thinking that this is normal,
7:40:31 > 7:40:37to live in this kind of house, with everything, is normal.
7:40:37 > 7:40:40And to be this ill is normal.
7:40:40 > 7:40:43No child should grow up like this.
7:40:47 > 7:40:50We all pay the price.
7:40:50 > 7:40:55Fuel poverty is costing the NHS an estimated £1.3 billion a year.
7:40:57 > 7:41:01It's all down to the link between cold homes and ill health.
7:41:02 > 7:41:04People with asthma are particularly at risk.
7:41:04 > 7:41:07We also see far higher rates of respiratory infections,
7:41:07 > 7:41:11far higher rates of heart attacks and strokes.
7:41:11 > 7:41:15So some really quite significant and serious impacts on physical health.
7:41:20 > 7:41:24I'm just putting my oven on to...
7:41:24 > 7:41:26get some heat in here.
7:41:26 > 7:41:28It's absolutely freezing,
7:41:28 > 7:41:31so this just gives me a bit of heat on me hands.
7:41:33 > 7:41:35If the temperature in your home regularly
7:41:35 > 7:41:40drops below 18 degrees, your health can suffer.
7:41:40 > 7:41:43It's every couple of weeks I've been getting these chest infections.
7:41:43 > 7:41:46My doctor has given me a new Ventolin spray
7:41:46 > 7:41:50because I'm just... All the time, as soon as I get rid of one,
7:41:50 > 7:41:52I seem to come down with another one.
7:41:57 > 7:42:02And it can get far worse than chest infections and winter bugs.
7:42:02 > 7:42:06New figures show how many people died last winter as a
7:42:06 > 7:42:09direct consequence of cold homes.
7:42:09 > 7:42:12Fuel poverty kills people.
7:42:12 > 7:42:14And last year, we estimate about 9,000 people
7:42:14 > 7:42:16died as a result of living in a cold home.
7:42:16 > 7:42:189,000 people.
7:42:20 > 7:42:23That's almost 80 people dying every day.
7:42:23 > 7:42:26And those lives could be saved.
7:42:26 > 7:42:29Across Europe, countries with far colder winters than ours
7:42:29 > 7:42:31have far fewer deaths.
7:42:33 > 7:42:36If houses were properly warm, properly heated,
7:42:36 > 7:42:37properly insulated,
7:42:37 > 7:42:40we wouldn't see anything like these numbers of deaths.
7:42:40 > 7:42:42It's entirely preventable.
7:42:42 > 7:42:45If that was an epidemic of some disease, or doctors making mistakes,
7:42:45 > 7:42:47there would quite rightly be people marching in the streets
7:42:47 > 7:42:51and causing an outrage. But this is because of the cold.
7:42:51 > 7:42:54It's a very quiet and hidden epidemic.
7:43:00 > 7:43:03The Government insists it takes fuel poverty seriously.
7:43:03 > 7:43:05It's invested...
7:43:06 > 7:43:09..to help people who are...
7:43:13 > 7:43:15And it's set up a committee to tackle the problem.
7:43:17 > 7:43:21As a fuel poverty expert and a former Government advisor,
7:43:21 > 7:43:25Nigel Farren was a strong candidate to sit on the panel.
7:43:25 > 7:43:27But the interview didn't go as planned.
7:43:29 > 7:43:34Very quickly, I realised that actually they didn't welcome me
7:43:34 > 7:43:38being somewhat critical of current Government policy.
7:43:38 > 7:43:42Really, what they were looking for was a yes person.
7:43:45 > 7:43:48Nigel, with his years of experience working on the front line
7:43:48 > 7:43:53of fuel poverty, didn't make it onto the Government's committee.
7:43:56 > 7:43:58But Lawrence Slade did.
7:43:58 > 7:44:03His organisation describes itself as "the voice of the energy industry".
7:44:05 > 7:44:07You sit on the Government's newly announced
7:44:07 > 7:44:08Fuel Poverty Committee.
7:44:08 > 7:44:12Do you think it's too full of industry members like yourself?
7:44:12 > 7:44:14No, because I'm not there representing the industry.
7:44:14 > 7:44:17I'm there as someone who applied for the position
7:44:17 > 7:44:20and went through normal Government appointment procedures.
7:44:20 > 7:44:23I'm an independent person on that committee.
7:44:24 > 7:44:27Lawrence isn't the only industry insider.
7:44:27 > 7:44:32Half the committee members have direct links to the energy industry.
7:44:32 > 7:44:34And we know why they were picked.
7:44:35 > 7:44:37We've seen the application form.
7:44:38 > 7:44:42It says the Government wants people with strong private sector or
7:44:42 > 7:44:44business experience.
7:44:44 > 7:44:46The application also states that
7:44:46 > 7:44:49"expertise in fuel poverty is not required".
7:44:50 > 7:44:53So you don't have to be an expert on fuel poverty
7:44:53 > 7:44:55to sit on the Fuel Poverty Committee.
7:44:57 > 7:45:02I really struggle with how Government can believe
7:45:02 > 7:45:07that by appointing three people that come from the energy industry
7:45:07 > 7:45:10they will receive impartial expert advice
7:45:10 > 7:45:13on the problem of fuel poverty.
7:45:13 > 7:45:16What clearly is needed is a group that actually holds
7:45:16 > 7:45:18Government to account on this issue.
7:45:19 > 7:45:24The Government says it wanted to appoint...
7:45:24 > 7:45:27And the committee includes those...
7:45:33 > 7:45:36It's not just the Government being blamed for cold homes.
7:45:36 > 7:45:40Energy companies have also been criticised for failing to
7:45:40 > 7:45:43pass on the reduction in oil and gas prices.
7:45:44 > 7:45:48This month, the Competition and Markets Authority
7:45:48 > 7:45:49accused energy companies
7:45:49 > 7:45:53of being uncompetitive and of overcharging customers.
7:45:53 > 7:45:56But the industry says the picture is improving.
7:45:58 > 7:46:01We have significantly more suppliers in the market,
7:46:01 > 7:46:05we have prices that are being driven down every week
7:46:05 > 7:46:07as an effect of competition coming through.
7:46:07 > 7:46:09So, actually, I think
7:46:09 > 7:46:13the market is improving its measure of competition every week.
7:46:13 > 7:46:15RINGING
7:46:16 > 7:46:20Energy companies have also come under fire for pushing
7:46:20 > 7:46:24customers onto expensive prepayment meters.
7:46:24 > 7:46:28Right, so that's my meter telling me that my credit's really low
7:46:28 > 7:46:30and it's under £1.
7:46:30 > 7:46:32And it's making this ringing sound.
7:46:32 > 7:46:37So I've now got 99 pence on it to last me until I can top up.
7:46:46 > 7:46:50- Can I also put a fiver on the electricity card?- £5, yeah?
7:46:50 > 7:46:52Thank you.
7:46:52 > 7:46:56'There are now almost eight million of these meters across the UK.'
7:46:56 > 7:46:58- There you go. - Thank you.- Thank you.
7:47:01 > 7:47:04You have to top up the meter in advance.
7:47:04 > 7:47:07So if you haven't got the cash, you can't stay warm.
7:47:09 > 7:47:12I've used a prepayment meter since I was a kid.
7:47:12 > 7:47:15And I know how much stress they can cause.
7:47:15 > 7:47:19It was almost like a fifth person in our home with us.
7:47:19 > 7:47:25And we became very aware of it draining very, very quickly
7:47:25 > 7:47:29and what things used up more credit than others.
7:47:29 > 7:47:32So it was a big added stress.
7:47:32 > 7:47:36It's the anxiety of using the credit that's on the meter,
7:47:36 > 7:47:42and it's also the anxiety of what you need to use energy-wise.
7:47:42 > 7:47:46Do you prioritise your heating? Do you prioritise a hot meal?
7:47:46 > 7:47:48Do you prioritise watching TV?
7:47:51 > 7:47:55Most new meters go in to collect debt.
7:47:55 > 7:47:57So when you put money on the meter,
7:47:57 > 7:48:00not all of it will make it to your boiler.
7:48:00 > 7:48:02WOMAN SNIFFS
7:48:02 > 7:48:05Every Monday, I put £10 on.
7:48:05 > 7:48:08You're not actually getting £10, you're only getting seven,
7:48:08 > 7:48:10because three of it is going for the debt.
7:48:12 > 7:48:15Like millions of others, Joanne Hayes was put onto
7:48:15 > 7:48:19prepayment meters when she fell behind on her bills.
7:48:19 > 7:48:23They're like a debt collector in the home.
7:48:23 > 7:48:25You have to pay up or the lights go out.
7:48:27 > 7:48:32When you run out, it runs out, there's no...no other way round it.
7:48:32 > 7:48:36When you've got no electricity, you've got no electricity.
7:48:36 > 7:48:38You're in total blackness.
7:48:40 > 7:48:43To know that I had no gas and electricity
7:48:43 > 7:48:47until the next time I could try and get me hands on some money,
7:48:47 > 7:48:50it's just been living in hell with them two meters.
7:48:50 > 7:48:52Absolutely living in hell.
7:48:54 > 7:48:57Although Joanne's debt has now been cleared,
7:48:57 > 7:49:01prepay meters are one of the most expensive ways to pay for energy.
7:49:01 > 7:49:05So the poorest customers have to pay the most.
7:49:05 > 7:49:09£1.63 - it's flashing "emergency available".
7:49:09 > 7:49:11Come on, where's all me money gone?
7:49:15 > 7:49:18So that's £12 in two days!
7:49:21 > 7:49:24Are you telling me this is right? This isn't right.
7:49:25 > 7:49:27This is not right.
7:49:28 > 7:49:29SHE SNIFFLES
7:49:29 > 7:49:32I just feel like getting a hammer and smashing the machine,
7:49:32 > 7:49:34swear to God, I do.
7:49:35 > 7:49:38If I could get someone to take it out me bloody house, I would,
7:49:38 > 7:49:39I really would.
7:49:41 > 7:49:43Do you recognise the stress
7:49:43 > 7:49:47and worry that prepayment meters bring to people's lives?
7:49:47 > 7:49:51I certainly recognise that for some households up and down the country
7:49:51 > 7:49:55that, yes, it obviously brings a significant amount of stress.
7:49:55 > 7:49:58Look, energy has to be paid in some way.
7:49:58 > 7:50:02Prepayment meters are not a perfect solution, but it's a way of managing
7:50:02 > 7:50:06people's debt and actually getting them back on their feet again.
7:50:07 > 7:50:10- You need to move, you really need to move.- We've got a warrant, love.
7:50:10 > 7:50:12I don't care what you've got, you need to move.
7:50:12 > 7:50:15If you are in debt, your energy company can force you
7:50:15 > 7:50:16to have a prepayment meter.
7:50:16 > 7:50:19Customers have started filming how they go about it.
7:50:19 > 7:50:21It's the police.
7:50:21 > 7:50:24Can you come to the window or open the door, please?
7:50:24 > 7:50:27If you refuse to let your energy provider into your home,
7:50:27 > 7:50:28they can bring the police.
7:50:28 > 7:50:30If you do not communicate within the next five minutes,
7:50:30 > 7:50:32they are going to put the door in.
7:50:37 > 7:50:42This is causing me harm and anxiety!
7:50:42 > 7:50:44It's supposed to be a last resort.
7:50:45 > 7:50:47TOOL WHIRS
7:50:47 > 7:50:50But more than half a million prepayment meters have been
7:50:50 > 7:50:53forcibly installed in six years.
7:50:53 > 7:50:54You and the police, or them,
7:50:54 > 7:50:57had the choice to strong-arm me into having a meter fitted.
7:50:57 > 7:50:59- I didn't want a meter fitted. - It's the warrant.
7:50:59 > 7:51:01The warrant is the boss, not us.
7:51:01 > 7:51:04Energy firms can get a warrant to enter your home
7:51:04 > 7:51:07and charge you hundreds of pounds for the cost.
7:51:07 > 7:51:10CRASHING
7:51:10 > 7:51:13Smashed their way in. They've smashed their way in.
7:51:13 > 7:51:15Hello, sir.
7:51:21 > 7:51:25Some think these warrants are handed out far too lightly.
7:51:25 > 7:51:28They're approved in batches by magistrates,
7:51:28 > 7:51:31usually with only the energy companies present.
7:51:33 > 7:51:36I've just been in court and I'm really surprised.
7:51:36 > 7:51:38I expected the energy companies to have to work a lot harder to
7:51:38 > 7:51:40get their warrants.
7:51:40 > 7:51:42All they did was they told the magistrate there were no
7:51:42 > 7:51:45vulnerable customers, he had a quick look through the paperwork
7:51:45 > 7:51:49and within five minutes he'd signed them all off, no questions asked.
7:51:51 > 7:51:55And experts say this is happening all over the country.
7:51:56 > 7:51:58In my mind, there's no doubt about it,
7:51:58 > 7:52:00this warrant process is being abused.
7:52:00 > 7:52:03It's almost a rubber-stamping exercise.
7:52:03 > 7:52:06We hear magistrates flying through 10, 20 applications
7:52:06 > 7:52:08in five, ten minutes.
7:52:08 > 7:52:10That is just not good enough.
7:52:14 > 7:52:17There are now so many of these warrants being issued,
7:52:17 > 7:52:21one London council is helping local residents to challenge them.
7:52:24 > 7:52:27We're seeing lots and lots of cases of energy companies trying to
7:52:27 > 7:52:30install prepayment meters if people are getting into debt.
7:52:30 > 7:52:32We feel it should be a last resort,
7:52:32 > 7:52:36but often it's kind of pushed upon the resident.
7:52:36 > 7:52:39Toby Morgan is going to meet a disabled woman
7:52:39 > 7:52:43who is being threatened with prepayment meters she doesn't want.
7:52:43 > 7:52:46It's an urgent case because British Gas
7:52:46 > 7:52:49has already been to court and obtained a warrant.
7:52:49 > 7:52:52The warrant's been issued - they can basically go
7:52:52 > 7:52:55and install the prepayment meters if we don't get something done.
7:52:57 > 7:53:00Susan Lulko's disability makes it difficult for her to
7:53:00 > 7:53:04get around and can leave her bedbound for days at a time.
7:53:05 > 7:53:09She's not blameless. Susan is in debt to British Gas
7:53:09 > 7:53:13and they've been trying to contact her for 11 months.
7:53:13 > 7:53:14Unable to reach her,
7:53:14 > 7:53:18British Gas wrote to say they're applying for a warrant.
7:53:18 > 7:53:20I opened the letter.
7:53:20 > 7:53:25It said, "We're going to obtain a warrant to enter your premises
7:53:25 > 7:53:28"and we will be fitting..."
7:53:28 > 7:53:30Not, "We will consider..."
7:53:30 > 7:53:33"We will be fitting prepayment meters."
7:53:36 > 7:53:39Susan then phoned British Gas and told them
7:53:39 > 7:53:41about her mobility problems.
7:53:41 > 7:53:44But they went to court for the warrant anyway.
7:53:45 > 7:53:48Energy companies are only supposed to install meters
7:53:48 > 7:53:50if they're safe and practical to use.
7:53:50 > 7:53:53- Hello, is that Susan?- Yes... - Hi there...
7:53:53 > 7:53:55British Gas say it's not clear
7:53:55 > 7:53:57whether or not that would have been the case.
7:53:57 > 7:54:00The thought of them coming in, forcing my door
7:54:00 > 7:54:05and putting these meters in that I didn't want, that I couldn't use...
7:54:07 > 7:54:10They might as well have just cut off the gas and electric.
7:54:10 > 7:54:15The regulator, Ofgem, says energy companies aren't allowed to install
7:54:15 > 7:54:19meters if a customer's disability makes topping up difficult.
7:54:19 > 7:54:22So you wouldn't be able to reach this anyway, would you?
7:54:22 > 7:54:27Ofgem says companies should check before applying for a warrant.
7:54:27 > 7:54:30British Gas say Susan's 11-month silence made that difficult.
7:54:30 > 7:54:32PHONE RINGS
7:54:32 > 7:54:34- RECORDED MESSAGE: - Helpline at British Gas...
7:54:34 > 7:54:37My name is Toby Morgan, I'm calling up from Islington Council,
7:54:37 > 7:54:40on behalf of a resident who I'm with at the moment.
7:54:40 > 7:54:43When Toby rings British Gas, they don't know we're recording
7:54:43 > 7:54:47the call and they make a crucial admission.
7:54:47 > 7:54:51Susan's mobility problems are marked on their records.
7:54:51 > 7:54:55She's got a disability, hopefully you've got that noted down...
7:54:55 > 7:54:59- ON PHONE:- We've just got on there that it's poor mobility...
7:54:59 > 7:55:00Poor mobility, yeah.
7:55:00 > 7:55:03- ON PHONE:- Yeah, we've got that down on there.
7:55:04 > 7:55:07So British Gas went to court even though
7:55:07 > 7:55:10they knew meters might not be appropriate for Susan.
7:55:11 > 7:55:13First and foremost,
7:55:13 > 7:55:17we kind of want the whole warrant process to be sort of halted.
7:55:17 > 7:55:20Where the meters are located, as well,
7:55:20 > 7:55:24it's not going to be possible for her to use them like that.
7:55:24 > 7:55:29Could you just confirm you've put a hold on the legal action stuff?
7:55:29 > 7:55:32British Gas agrees to drop the warrant
7:55:32 > 7:55:35and a repayment plan is put in place.
7:55:35 > 7:55:38They won't go ahead with the whole warrant process.
7:55:38 > 7:55:40And they're not going to come round on the fifth
7:55:40 > 7:55:43and knock on your door and install the prepayment meters.
7:55:43 > 7:55:45So that's... That's good news anyway.
7:55:45 > 7:55:46- Yeah, very good news.- Yeah.
7:55:52 > 7:55:55British Gas denies breaking the rules.
7:55:55 > 7:55:57They say they would have stopped the installation
7:55:57 > 7:55:59if it wasn't...
7:55:59 > 7:56:02..to use.
7:56:02 > 7:56:04They say the case highlights the importance of...
7:56:07 > 7:56:10And they only seek a warrant...
7:56:23 > 7:56:28It's all a long way from what the Government promised 16 years ago.
7:56:29 > 7:56:33Fuel poverty has been redefined, while millions are on expensive
7:56:33 > 7:56:37prepayment meters and thousands are dying from the cold.
7:56:39 > 7:56:41I think it should be an issue
7:56:41 > 7:56:44that's a far higher priority for governments.
7:56:44 > 7:56:489,000 people dying of the cold last winter - that's not acceptable.
7:56:52 > 7:56:56Those at risk can only dream of a warmer future...
7:56:57 > 7:56:59If I can get up from here and walk there,
7:56:59 > 7:57:02and not go like that - "Oh, it's freezing..."
7:57:02 > 7:57:04Just to walk out...
7:57:04 > 7:57:06Yeah, it's luxury. I'd like some of it.
7:57:09 > 7:57:13..while some know they will be trapped in fuel poverty
7:57:13 > 7:57:15for the rest of their lives...
7:57:15 > 7:57:17Come on, Sam.
7:57:17 > 7:57:21..even if they no longer count in the official figures.
7:57:21 > 7:57:24Well, there's no way out of this, is there?
7:57:24 > 7:57:26It's like fighting a hopeless battle.
7:57:27 > 7:57:28Come on, love, eh?
7:57:29 > 7:57:31Go and have a little wander round.
7:57:34 > 7:57:36And it'll be the same next year...