Energy companies have been urged to re-establish a network of shopfront hubs to better support their customers in Renfrewshire.

The challenges people have faced in contacting suppliers were highlighted at a meeting of Renfrewshire Council on Thursday.

Elected members recounted horror stories from constituents as they demanded the return of shops, so those experiencing problems can access face-to-face advice and support.

Councillor Andy Doig brought forward a motion on the subject which urged firms to invest in such an initiative.

The independent member for Johnstone North and the surrounding villages said: “This is a major, major issue now in society – the inability of people to contact national energy companies in order to report issues about supply, issues about lack of supply, issues about changing from a credit meter to a pay-as-you-go meter and vice-versa.

“Some of the stories I’ve heard recently in the last two or three months, it’s especially poignant at a time when we’re getting the kind of temperatures we’re getting.

“It’s people who are on pay-as-you-go meters who are, I would say, most vulnerable.

“I know about a situation where a constituent had an app on his phone that he used to top up his pay-as-you-go smart meter. There was an issue with the password. Now I don’t know what the issue was but not everybody is as IT proficient as some people would like us to be.

“He was blocked out of it. At the end of the day, he was without power for about two, three, four days until a family member managed to come down, reset the password and then he was able to use the app to top up.

“It wasn’t even in that case a lack of funds. It was that, when he tried to phone, he was on the phone for maybe an hour, then it would click off and he would have to start the process again.”

Councillor Doig added that shopfront hubs were a solution because people could attend in person and “get their problem solved easily, quickly and stress free.”

The motion received cross-party backing, with a number of councillors sharing the experiences of people in their communities.

Councillor Chris Gilmour, a Labour representative in the same ward, accused large energy companies of “retreating” to call centres.

He said: “Trying to deal with a customer recently who had an experience where the address on the meter and property didn’t match up, despite the fact they lived there for a number of years and had the bills to prove it, was very, very difficult.

“In certain areas, face-to-face interaction would be a lot better than a call centre because the call centre, frankly, doesn’t seem to listen to the language I’m speaking.

“It sounds like sometimes I come from another planet.”

Councillor Lisa-Marie Hughes, an SNP rep for Renfrew North and Braehead, spoke about the value a shopfront network could have for those with additional support or mental health needs.

She said: “There are people who will always need support to deal with all aspects of bills and things, there are people who can cope with them absolutely fine.

“But particularly if you have a communication need, being able to speak to someone face-to-face is really helpful.”

She added that people shouldn’t be “pushed” into a position where they struggle to access a service they are paying companies to provide.

Energy UK, a trade association, said companies are hiring more staff in a bid to deal with the level of calls from customers.

A spokesperson added: “With bills at the level they are, suppliers are naturally getting more calls from more customers needing more help than ever before.

“This does put a big strain on call centres and, while they are employing more people to try and deal with the extra calls, this is at a level they’ve never seen before.”