The Electricity industry body Energy UK estimates that of the three million or more people in the UK who use prepayment electricity meters, 85,000 have been sold cut price electricity credits from criminal gangs that have managed to clone prepayment meter keys.

Apparently customers were unwittingly persuaded to purchase discounted credits by door to door salesmen since the start of summer.

Whilst customers may receive cut price electricity, they are doing so through illegal credits and may end up having to pay their original supplier at full price for the credits they have illegally used, effectively paying twice.

Yet again people on low incomes have been targeted and some of them may have thought they were getting a good deal, however if they have to pay back illegal credits from an already stretched budget, how are they to cope with the additional cost as winter approaches.

To read more on this issue follow the link on the BBC.