8 January 2007
Scottish Gas and British Gas customers who are struggling to afford their energy tariffs are to face a £5 late-payment fine if they fail to pay their bills on time, in a move which has been criticised for potentially pushing pensioners into further fuel poverty.
When it is introduced on March 1st this year, it will arrive just in time to sting quarterly paying customers who will be trying to find the cash for the expensive winter bill.
Some cynics have even suggested that the fine is being brought in to recoup the expected monetary loss which will be incurred by the companies with the reduction of their prices in the next quarter.
A spokesman for consumer group Energywatch told the Daily Mail: "The simple thing to do is to get away from British Gas. The fee is outrageous. They are the most expensive for almost everybody and the customer service is so poor.
"If that is not a big enough incentive to leave, this latest £5 charge is yet another slap in the face for the company's customers."
A Help the Aged spokesman told the Mail that they were advising pensioners to "make sure they are warm - and worry about the bills later".
Scottish Gas has since stated that the fines will help to regain some of the £21 million it loses each year while chasing up late payments and that low-income families, pensioners and other vulnerable customers would be exempt from the fine.
Despite this, an Ofgem spokesman told the BBC that consumers who are unhappy with the fine should "vote with their feet", adding that its research had indicated that Scottish Gas customers could save £100-150 by switching suppliers.