Customers have been struggling to top up their pay-as-you-go energy meters owing to a fault at British Gas. Those on prepayment meters have been unable to pay via the supplier's website and app. The company - the largest supplier in the UK - has apologised, said the app had now been fixed, and is encouraging those affected to call phone lines to top up. However, many are reporting long waits on busy phone lines. Other customers are unable to check accounts owing to the website fault.

Millions of people in the UK use prepayment meters, such as tenants and some who have missed payments in the past. Many will have an account with British Gas. They prepay for gas and electricity on a card, which allows an emergency credit of £5 if the money runs out. Angry customers have described how they have been unable to load payments owing to the IT issues, and have faced long waits when trying an alternative method.

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