The Don’t Pay UK group, which campaigns to reduce skyrocketing energy bills, has gathered support from more than 91,000 people who plan to cancel their direct debit payments from 1 October. The protest is designed to coincide with regulator Ofgem’s energy cap rise, as well as hiking bills for households across the country. Analysts predict the typical customer is likely to pay £3,358 a year from October, up from £1,971 a year in April. Are you planning to refuse to pay your energy bills as part of the campaign? If so, please email [email protected] Tony, a Don’t Pay volunteer, told BBC Radio 4 “the sums just don’t add up anymore”, adding: “I’m very scared of what’s going to happen this winter.” Tony said he had always paid his bills in the past and understood there were risks involved in not paying, but argued “the biggest risk is doing nothing at all”. “If we don’t act this winter, prices may go up even more, and if we let them get away, I think we’re going to be forced into more poverty and have more money taken away from us,” he said. Debt charity Stepchange, however, warned there could be serious consequences for not paying bills, such as suppliers calling on debt collection agencies to recover funds. Gas and electricity bills are classed as priority bills, meaning there is a higher impact threshold for missed or late payments, the charity added. Gordon Brown has warned that children will go hungry if more is not done to tackle the cost of living crisis (PA) “Any delays will be added to the meter and a set amount will be deducted each week. This means you must pay the arrears in a set weekly amount or lose the commission. “Your supplier can also remove the meter and cut your supply, but thankfully this is incredibly rare,” said Richard Lane, director of external affairs at Stepchange. “If you’ve fallen behind on your household bills and are worried about how you’re going to pay, it’s important not to wait to get help. Contact your supplier to let them know you are struggling, they may be able to offer support and tell you about any grants available to pay off a utility bill or negotiate a financial payment plan.” Citizens Advice said there were some safeguards in place for customers, but they were still vulnerable to higher charges after refusing to pay. “Your supplier cannot make you prepay if it was not safe or practical. For example, if an illness or disability means you would be at risk if your gas or electricity were cut off. Your supplier must also follow clear instructions and make sure they’ve given you notice, given you time to pay any debts and suggested alternatives to switching to a prepaid meter.” Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has warned there will be a “severe impact” on people if action is not taken now to tackle the cost of living crisis. He called for an emergency meeting of Cobra to deal with the growing issue. “Make sure we can get help with people’s living costs because we only have seven weeks before October 1,” he said. “You have to change the universal credit calculator to allow it to make payments to people and there is no doubt that people will be without food and hungry and cold in October if we don’t act now.” “So it’s time to take action and that’s why I’m saying that government ministers should meet with the two leaders-in-waiting so that they can agree a package that could be implemented immediately. “If not, parliament will have to be recalled to consider what is a national emergency and at the same time of course the special committee will have to meet to look at all these plans. “You could be looking at a cap on energy prices, you could do what Norway is doing and say we’ll pay 80 percent of rising bills, or you could have better social security support.”
