Victory as British Gas reverse meter change that left poor families going hungry

Campaigners have claimed victory after British Gas agreed to reverse a change to their top-up meters that hit some of the poorest families in the UK.

The energy giant acted today after 90,000 people protested against a new £5 minimum top-up fee for a pay-as-you-go meter.

British Gas had claimed the rise from £1, introduced on January 1, was due to rising admin costs.

But today the firm announced: "British Gas has listened to a range of views on the £5 minimum vend level and has changed the threshold back to £1."

Chief executive Sarwjit Sambhi said: "The aim of this move was to keep our costs down in order to offer our customers the best value, but I am happy to change this decision whilst we continue to look at ways that we can help our most vulnerable customers."

Labour MP Preet Kaur Gill had warned the change had a "grim impact" on "some of the most precarious people in society" - and accused the firm of "the height of social irresponsibility."

More than 90,000 people signed Ms Gill's petition on the 38Degrees website calling for the U-turn.

The petition quoted one customer, nicknamed Daniel, who says: "I use a pre-pay meter because I can’t afford a direct debit.

"£5 may not sound a lot, but when you’re scraping together coppers just to make up the money, it can be the difference between a hot meal and going hungry."

Another, Trevor from Stafford, said: "Sometimes you just haven’t got that fiver to top up the meter - because you’re not getting paid until the end of the week - so you can’t. It means choosing between things like food, and heat - and in cold weather it's even worse.

"They obviously don’t understand that lots of people live hand to mouth. They think everyone's rich - it’s not true. British Gas needs to change it back.”

Ms Gill said in a statement issued by British Gas: "I am very happy that British Gas has listened to the feedback from the thousands of people who have spoken up about our campaign, and reversed their decision to increase the minimum top-up for pre-pay meters for over the counter transactions.

"This has revealed the extent of the fuel poverty crisis in Britain today, with far too many struggling to find even £5 to heat their homes.

"I hope that other energy providers will now follow British Gas's lead. There is much more that needs to be done to tackle the fuel poverty crisis and I will continue to campaign for those who are struggling and at risk of falling into hardship."