Legal orders allowing energy firms to force their way into people’s homes to fit prepayment meters are usually signed off in “private rooms” away from the public eye, courts have told theipaper 🔎 Investigation deankirby_
revealed that these uncontested hearings take place hundreds of miles from customers’ homes, are done over the telephone and how magistrates have a spreadsheet of information from which to make a decision. The courts say the debt firms make their applications under oath.was given access to, at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court, 496 warrants were bulk processed in just three minutes and 51 seconds.
Ryan Bradshaw, a senior associate solicitor at law firm Leigh Day specialising in discrimination and public law, said the “automatic” granting of warrants toHe said: “To have someone enter your private property uninvited is a serious violation of the right to privacy under Article 8 of the“In various cases related to those suspected of criminal activity it has been established that those who are subject to a warrant of entry ought to be given the opportunity to assess whether it is justified.
He added: “This is of particular importance when it has become increasingly clear that the information held on customers, by the energy companies, may not be accurate and that those with an increased need for support are being failed by them in the midst of a cost of living crisis. “Beyond the issues with the energy companies and their use of these warrants it is deeply concerning that the Magistrates Court is not allowing people the opportunity to challenge them and are simply taking the
at their word. Straightforwardly this seems to be a breach of the Article 6 right to a fair trial enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights.”
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