Serious consequences for not paying energy bills, warn UK charities

theguardian.com:

UK charities are warning people of the severe consequences of not paying their energy bills, as a campaign to stop payments from October gains momentum.

The Don’t Pay UK group, which is demanding a reduction of bills to an affordable level, has reportedly gathered support from 80,000 people who intend to cancel their direct debit payments from 1 October, when the regulator raises the energy price cap, the maximum amount suppliers are allowed to charge.

Analysts are forecasting that the average household bill will jump above £3,300 a year, from £1,971 in April.

The group says it will only take action if one million people sign up to its “mass non-payment strike of energy bills”.

Britain is facing its biggest cost of living crisis in decades as energy and food bills soar. Citizens Advice said the scale of the problem was significant and it had supported more people who were unable to top up their prepayment meter in June than it had in January 2022. It added that a record number of its service users lacked the funds to turn on their fridge or heat their hob to cook a meal.

Gas and electricity bills are classed as priority bills, which means there can be severe consequences for missing or being late on a payment, said the charity Stepchange. If people don’t pay them, their supplier can collect the debt using a debt collection agency. They can also get a court warrant to enter people’s homes to fit a prepayment card meter.

“Any arrears will be added to the meter and a set amount will be deducted each week. This means you must pay the arrears at a set weekly amount or lose the supply. Your supplier can also remove the meter and cut off your supply, but fortunately this is incredibly rare,” said Richard Lane, director of external