At last, a good meter reading

Compo for customers made to pay up front

- BY LIZZY BUCHAN Political Editor

TENS of thousands of people will get payouts of up to £1,000 after the forced installation of prepayment meters in their homes.

Eight energy companies have been ordered to shell out £18.6million in compensation and debt write-offs to at least 40,000 customers.

Scottish Power, EDF, E.ON, Utility Warehouse, Good Energy, TruEnergy and Ecotricity have all agreed.

It follows a probe by the regulator Ofgem, which found people had been forcibly switched into paying up front after falling behind on their bills.