Mobile home residents missing out on energy deals and support, report warns

People living in mobile homes in Scotland face "a number of challenges" while trying to access reliable and affordable energy, a report has said.

Around 8,500 people live permanently in residential park homes on sites across Scotland.

But Consumer Scotland has warned that they are often treated unfairly as most purchase energy directly from site owners who might not secure the best deals.

Residents told BBC Scotland News they felt they were being "penalised" for not living in a house.

The arrangement with site owners often means residents cannot influence contracts, tariffs or billing arrangements in the same way regular homeowners can.

Consumer Scotland says many residents can also miss out on safeguards and protections like the energy price cap and debt support.

Caroline Beckett, 64, says she has not received an invoice for the energy use in her park home in Perthshire for more than three years, despite paying the site owner.

For residents like her, the lack of transparency around charges is a huge concern.

She says people living at the site want to know exactly what they should be paying and are concerned about falling into debt.

"We love our homes, I love my home, it's perfect for me," she said. "And yet we seem to be penalised because we're not in bricks and mortar.

"Why should we be treated different?"

She added: "A lot of people choose these homes because they're more affordable.

"They're all on one level so people of a certain age like to live in them, it's a community."

Ofgem says site owners cannot charge residents more than they pay for the electricity and gas that they resell, but they can apply reasonable charges for administration costs.

Consumer Scotland says these protections should be strengthened.

Leanne Caplis is the chair of the Scottish Confederation of Park Home Residents Associations.

She lives on a park home site in Fife and wants to make sure residents like her are not treated like "second class citizens".

"All residents should be treated fairly and equally and in line with other consumers who are buying their energy directly," she said.

Caplis said most site owners charged "what they should", but residents needed more oversight on their bills, as well as more of a say on their contracts.

"The vulnerable and elderly can't get on priority lists, we can't talk directly to an energy supplier," she added.

"We can't take advantage of other energy supplier's rates, we can't shop around so we are reliant on the owner getting the best rate for us and that isn't always the case."

Consumer Scotland wants to see maximum resale price rules strengthened, as well as stronger protections for consumers who do not have a direct relationship with their supplier.

The body's head of energy transition, Alistair Hill, said park home residents appeared to be a "massively underserved group".

He said the current set-up meant that many had "limited control" over tariffs and suppliers.

Hill said there was often "poor transparency" around billing which could lead to "difficult conversations" with site owners when charges needed to be challenged.

"The evidence we've gathered suggests that poor communication between site owners and residents can often exacerbate these issues," he added.

He said residents seemed to be an "afterthought" in the development of energy policy and regulation, and this needed to be addressed in the long term.

"Many of these park homes residents are more likely to have a number of vulnerable characteristics, so it's essential we get this right for them."