Disconnection if you do not pay a security deposit

An electricity supplier, gas supplier or gas transporter may refuse to connect, or may disconnect, your supply if you fail to pay the requested deposit within seven days of being billed. Your supply may remain disconnected for as long as you refuse to pay the amount requested.

If you cannot afford to pay a reasonable security deposit for a gas supply straight away, your supply will only be disconnected as a last resort if a prepayment meter cannot be installed (or is refused) or Fuel Direct is not available to you. See Chapter 8 for more on disconnections.

A gas supplier is not entitled to withhold the supply or threaten to disconnect for any amount of security deposit which is genuinely in dispute. This applies if you dispute the amount of, or the need for, a security deposit.

Ofgem and the Energy Ombudsman may consider and resolve disputes over security deposits. See Chapter 14 for how to resolve a dispute.