IT is about time the loopholes connected with the emergency service for pre-payment gas card were tightened.

The BEN has highlighted the fact that a second Bolton family was left in the cold after problems with the card.

British Gas are trialling a new pre-payment meter system which would enable customers to obtain a replacement card from a local outlet, when necessary.

It seems that the sooner this new system is adopted, the better it will be for British Gas customers.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.