Two mothers with young children were part of the first group of people set to have prepayment meters force-fitted after warrants were granted.

Last month, a district judge granted Scottish Power permission to enter homes and fit prepayment meters. This was the first time suppliers were allowed to force the meters onto households since the beginning of this year.

However, an investigation by The Times newspaper found two of the test cases involved were mothers of children under two - one of them only gave birth in September. This would break Ofgem new rules on force-fitting prepayment meters, set to be introduced next week.

However, Scottish Power defended its move saying that it was not aware of the customer's circumstances at the time of the warrant application and has since cancelled it. Nearly 130 applications were made by Scottish Power at the Berkshire Magistrates Court in Reading last month. The court heard that a selection of Scottish Power customers had built up debts of more than £2,000 for their gas and electricity.

The court granted the warrants as it had been "assured" ScottishPower was complying with legal changes overseen by the energy regulator Ofgem. The newspaper spoke to one mother who lives in her home with her partner above a car repair garage in the south of England. She said she could not afford the bills and that she had given birth six weeks before the court case.

Scottish Power has cancelled the warrants with a spokesperson telling The Mirror that it had "not been aware" of the individual circumstances of these customers at the point of the warrant application. The spokesperson highlighted: "Given we now have additional information about both customers, we’ve added them to the Priority Services Register, cancelled the warrants and will work with them to agree an affordable repayment plan.”

The energy firm said it had made repeated attempts to contact the energy customers about their energy debt over the course was "committed to adhering to the strict new licence conditions".

They explained: "As we made clear in court, the warrants granted are for customers who have repeatedly refused to engage with us to discuss their outstanding debt and agree an affordable repayment plan. As a result, we were not aware of their individual circumstances at the point of warrant application, despite numerous attempts to contact them.

“No prepayment meter installation would ever go ahead if any high-risk factors were identified at the visit, in line with Ofgem’s Code of Practice and licence conditions, and no warrant action can currently be progressed until Ofgem agrees.

“This highlights the difficulties suppliers face when customers won’t engage with them when they run into difficulty. If anyone is struggling to pay, they should contact us or speak to a debt charity right away so we can take their situation into account and get them the help they need.

Energy security secretary Claire Coutinho held an urgent meeting with Scottish Power boss Keith Anderson, and Ofgem's chief executive Jonathan Brearley earlier this week to discuss the cases. Since February, no forced fittings of meters have taken place after another investigation by the Times revealed British Gas had used debt collectors to "break into" the homes of vulnerable customers.

The newspaper sent an undercover reporter to work for a debt-collecting agency. The reporter said they witnessed the agents work with a locksmith to force their way into homes with one locksmith reportedly saying: "This is the exciting bit. I love this bit."

The investigation caused a public outcry and the energy regulator stepped in and banned the practice across all suppliers. It then created a strict code of conduct that energy suppliers must follow in order to forcefully fit a prepayment meter.

Under the new Ofgem rules, meters should not be fitted:

  • When customers are over 75, unless someone younger also lives in the home
  • In households with children under the age of two
  • If anyone lives there with a terminal illness or certain conditions which would get worse in a cold home

The lead fitter also needs to wear body cameras or audio equipment when the installation is taking place. Alongside this, under the conditions set out by Ofgem, suppliers must:

  • Have an independent assessment to verify that they can keep to the rules
  • Check for wrongfully installed meters and, if found, offer compensation and return the household to a standard meter
  • Supply regular monitoring data to Ofgem
  • Be satisfied that all the conditions have been met

The new Code of Conduct becomes mandatory on November 8 and it states that suppliers must have to make at least 10 attempts to contact a customer and conduct a "site welfare visit" before installing a prepay meter.