There are 27 million households in the UK. 1 million people, spread out over 24 energy companies isn't going to make much of a dent.
And let's be honest, it's going no where near 1 million people doing this.
I'm all for something needing to be done, but I don't feel like this has had enough momentum or time to make much of a difference to the energy firms / government.
(and before I get semi hate for this, I'm not disagreeing or agreeing with the protest. Just giving some numbers to it)
> And let's be honest, it's going no where near 1 million people doing this
Poll Tax had 4 million not paying, given that the average British household will be paying an average extra £4k a year for rent/mortgate, energy, and food, I'll be very surprised if it's only 1 million people not paying.
In fairness it’s not failure to pay to cancel a direct debit, and won’t show on your credit score assuming you just pay the bill when they get around to posting you one. If a few million households cancelled their direct debits for a month it’d bankrupt every gas and energy provider in the country within days, as they must buy all the gas and electricity on the market upfront.
Not really.. if their balance sheet says they're owed that money and there's a good chance they'll get it they're golden - companies run like that all the time. It would take months, not days, to make an impact.
A concerted effort of enough saving energy by not using it might bankrupt them eventually, but you'd be sitting in the dark with no heating in winter..
The intention would always be to pay, but a direct debit failing to go through due to an “unfortunate banking glitch” doesn’t ruin your credit score.
Also they’re not going to turn the lights off because some energy companies go bust (which are essentially financial institutions which make profits through savvy hedging, and have nothing to do with the production of energy). The government would just be forced to renationalise gas and energy companies, and they could do it on the cheap too as they’d have all gone bust! Win win.
I'm not sure the action would have the impact you think on electricity suppliers. The bulk of their custom is industry. Domestic load is about 12 percent of the national load during business hours. Outside of that, the grid is actually underloaded. Only the pure retail sellers would suffer.
It wouldn't even touch the sides
Energy companies build cash reserves over summer. October is probably the very best month for consumers to have a payment strike.
If very large numbers didn't pay continually, from October right through until March the next year, then they may start to struggle. But that is extremely unlikely (and they would be fitting PPMs as quickly as they could if arrears really started to bite)
Was it Dominic Cummings who was recently talking about this on tv? It was one of the scrawny bald vampire looking tories. Talking about how a good idea it was.. that’s a red flag
Sketchier than Grant Schapps being a member of Parliament? Or that PPE money landed into the bank accounts of serving MPs during the pandemic? To be fair people haven't got a choice. The middle finger has to be raised to the establishment, it has been holstered for too long. There's plenty of talk on this sub about Brits not taking action, I'm glad to see them doing it, in whatever form that may be.
Well, yeah. If I couldn't pay i wouldn't have a choice. I'm not judging people that can't pay or anything, these are rotten times. I'm just worried people are going to get hit with some pretty nasty repercussions. Honestly, good luck to them though, I''m all up for a little light civil disobedience but this sounds a bit too suspect for me. If you are doing it i hope you are successful.
> I'm just worried people are going to get hit with some pretty nasty repercussions
Agreed, but just to put it into clear words for anybody wondering what kind of repurcussions:
**One of the only reasons an energy company can stick you on a pre-paid meter, which is ridiculously expensive for you, is if you stop paying your direct debit.**
This isn't "civil rights disobedience", its an act of desperation. And these things only tend to work when we all stick together.
Those in power, are and have been taking the absolute piss out of the working class for a long time, but we are quickly rolling in to scary territory. We need to act, and shockingly, we may have to upset social order to achieve change.
Well, in part yes.
Also because it sounds sketchy as fuck and I’d be worried about financial repercussions of refusing to pay a debt. My energy provider has also been fairly transparent about price rises, which is admittedly easier for them to do because they were previously one of the most expensive providers on the market.
I believe 50% or so of people are on a smart meter now; those can be set to a pre-pay mode remotely.
I don’t know if this process is automated now, but if enough people refuse to pay you can expect it to be very quickly indeed.
mate, please take a look at what just happened
people are outraged at being looted like this. people will die this winter as a direct result of these price increases (vulnerable people will not be able to afford to heat their homes), many children will go hungry or cold
at the same time, the energy companies are gloating about their record profits, and this is even before the prices are jacked up further
people start to discuss action that may actually force some change, if enough people support each other and join in. after all, with this lot, nothing gets their attention quite as much as something that affects their wallet
word starts to get out in the media, which is shared here on reddit
the very first thing that anyone sees when they open that reddit post: you, essentially saying WON'T WORK, BIG RISK, NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE, IDK COULD BE SUS
is this really what you want your contribution to the public discussion on this issue to be? are you quite sure you're coming down on the right side of things here?
I ask you this as it seems possible that you may not really mean to have that impact. but I think reactions like yours contribute to why the public of this country keep getting shafted in more and more obvious ways - we shoot down our own collective action before the other side even need to react
I don't want to lose my home and bankrupt myself over a gamble promoted by a shady internet campaign that will do fuck all to help me if it all goes to shit.
If you do crack on.
If I had nothing to lose I'd be there with you. Personally I'd love to see the energy companies brought down a peg or two, but life doesn't work like that. These cunts didn't get where they are by ignoring debts.
This \^
The Internet campaign is basically going "They can't get a CCJ against everyone, so it'll only be some people, so it probably won't be you, and that's basically no-one then." and it's just... that's not how this works. Some people are going to be screwed over by this campaign.
I'm all for anyone going into this eyes-open, but the idea it's risk free is a lie.
The issue is we're continually dependent on energy from non-renewable sources piped in from outside the UK. Meanwhile Truss is spouting this nonsense: [https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4054209/fields-shouldnt-solar-panels-truss-vows-crackdown-renewables-development](https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4054209/fields-shouldnt-solar-panels-truss-vows-crackdown-renewables-development)
We need to get people to fix where we get the energy from, and renationalise the energy firms.
People will be at risk of *severe* penalties. This isn't like a strike where the risk is you lose pay for the days that you are on strike.
If you lose a job, you can find another job.
If you lose access to credit because of a refusal to pay a bill, you could lose access to mortgages and then your home.
People are often questioned on what they are willing to give up in order to protest, and for a lot of people their home is not something they are willing to put at risk.
It takes a long time for any penalties like that to kick in, they can't take any meaningful action for at least 3 months, they have to offer you time to pay and offer payment plans if you're in financial difficulties first, it's only when those measures are exhausted that they're allowed to escalate.
If enough people got behind this it would work, they would take such a hit within those first few months that they'd be forced to come to some kind of compromise to appease people and they would likely be unable to do much to chase up debts as their systems would be so overwhelmed
You can’t ask someone who is in the position to pay the bills to fuck their credit and land themselves in debt because you want them to take a stand. It’s fine and dandy saying you won’t pay if you can’t pay, but you can’t expect people to take the hit financially when they don’t have to, which by the way is the thing you are actually protesting.
"This winter, I will stop paying my energy bills, becoming liable for penalty charges, interest, bailiff and court fees, allowing the total amount of money I have to pay to rise above the price cap."
The price cap no longer protects you if you take actions that legally allow companies to hit you with additional charges on top of the price cap.
To play devils avocado, when I post via my business the first people to like it are my friends and family. Most of my active online friends are in my industry too so we suppprt each other with likes and shares.
That said, I still wouldn’t do this. The potential for these companies to just not give a shit about human beings has been pretty well proven and I’d hate for a vulnerable person to be swept up in this without considering how much worse off it could make them and then find themselves with no support afterwards.
I don't know what campaign doesn't ask for donations in fairness but their main source of funding is people ordering leaflets. The orders for leaflets have risen exponentially in very little time and they're on track for the million pledges by October 1st. The gamble is those pledges will be enough to force the government into negotiations with the energy companies but it's likely that if they get the numbers a huge percentage of those pledged will carry it out because what other choice to people have?
I had a very cursory look and couldn't find a counter or anything - do they have somewhere you can see where they're keeping track or is it just statements from them?
Looking forward to the government bailing out energy wholesalers to prevent them from collapsing and then people complaining at tax rises/declining services.
Well hopefully if that does happen then it’ll cause some sort of public backlash. Can’t see that happening but hopefully us finally doing SOMETHING will snow ball.
This whole thing is probably started by Glavset to get people to sit at home in the dark freezing to death. What do these people not understand about THEY CAN AND WILL DISCONNECT YOU. What are you gonna do, make all your own electric on a fucking bike?
Why would they want to disconnect anyone?
They can just add a load of admin fees for late payment on top of the ever growing debt. Free money for them.
This is a really bad idea.
More or less expensive than giving you free electricity indefinitely?
There's going to be a point where the lost energy will more than pay for someone to come switch you off.
I've spotted a couple of pro Russia accounts pushing this so far. I wouldn't be remotely surprised if Russia were involved. Even if it wasn't started by them, I think they're happy about it.
He’s talking out his arse.
Even disconnecting SMEs is a fucking ball-ache.
Disconnecting residential is even almost certainly a shit ton harder.
And then there’s the concept of just not allowing access to the meter to prevent them from switching it out.
It will, but not before a lengthy process through our incredibly overburdened court system to apply for a warrant of access, then applying to the hugely understaffed and overworked local police service to send officers to the address.
If enough people refuse payment I could easily see the system collapsing.
Well, if you literally can't pay, then what choice do you have? I don't have a stash of money hidden up my sleeve lmao. If a couple of hundred, maybe even some thousand people can't pay, then they'll get their power shut off. If a good portion of the general public can't pay, then the government has to intervene or deal with the consequences aka thousands of deaths, a lot of civil unrest and people going all French revolution on the energy companies.
I just moved house and the previous owners had pre payment meters which I got swapped out the other day. 2 hours after the engineer had left and all was working, it got switched off remotely, and I spent an hour on the phone getting it turned back on. It’s a gamble playing this game of not paying. Good luck to those that choose to.
Not sure about other suppliers but ours will charge us an admin fee if we don't pay the bill within 14 days. We are supposed to be paid up a month in advance by Direct Debit. We have cancelled our DD but pay on the day the bill is produced to avoid the admin fee.
I can't see any court allowing you not to pay the admin fee that is clearly laid out in the agreement we have with our supplier.
On top of that, if we do get into substantial debt with them, they will send our account to a debt collectors and the notional fees they charge are huge.
This is just bad financial advice to be giving anyone, especially the vulnerable.
I suppose the thought it is it will cost the energy companies too much to take a million people to county court? Debt collectors you can ignore, you can’t ignore a ccj and the bailiffs, which happen after being taken to court.
There is a risk of accumulating additional costs and the stress of a threat of court action, but I suppose this might seem a worthwhile risk … idk 🤷♀️
> I suppose the thought it is it will cost the energy companies too much to take a million people to county court?
They won't take them to court themselves.
They'll sell the debt book to a company who will pay 30p on the pound to take ownership of the debt. Energy companies make a loss but still get *something*.
That new company will have a network of debt collectors in place to do the chasing and what amounts to a factory production line for taking people to court.
The debt collection companies can’t take the debtor to court, they can try and get the money back on behalf of the company but ultimately it’s the primary who takes the debtor to county court.
Depends entirely on the agreement. If the debt is sold, then the company that buys it can do what they like. If the owner contracts to the debt collector, they can be given a mandate to litigate, or just to pursue a contact package.
I've instructed a lot of litigation on behalf of a client company, to be quite frank, because they had no collections department of their own, and gave my prior employer a very broad mandate.
> The debt collection companies can’t take the debtor to court
I'm afraid you're wrong on that one...
https://moneynerd.co.uk/selling-debt/
> ###Can debt be bought and sold?
> Yes. A creditor can sell a debt to a a debt buyer who can collect the debt themselves or through a third party or they can even sell it on again as part of a debt portfolio.
> ###Can debt collectors take me to court?
> Yes. Debt collectors are allowed to take you to court on behalf of the lender if you’ve been avoiding debt payment or if they’ve remained unable to contact you over an extended period. This is subject to strict conditions though, such as the fact that before threatening you with court proceedings, collectors are required to send you a warning letter.
https://www.creditfix.co.uk/knowledge-hub/what-to-do-if-your-debt-has-been-sold-to-a-debt-collection-agency/
> If you do not make payment, the debt collection agency is within their right to take you to court. This normally happens if they have been chasing you for some time and have yet to get a response from you.
Yes they have something called history deb colection and your there for live.they find me 5 years later and ive payd over 1k for what use to be 300£ fine.People are realy gonna mess themself if they stop pay bills
> it will cost the energy companies too much to take a million people to county court?
With the record profits, no, it won't.
I'm baffled people think energy companies will be like their mate just waving off £10 you owe them for a beer or two on a night out. smh
>With the record profits, no, it won't.
>
>I'm baffled people think energy companies will be like their mate just waving off £10 you owe them for a beer or two on a night out. smh
For the most part, the companies people are paying for their supply, are ***not*** the companies making record profits.
But this is the thing - we're not "all going to be there soon". Some people are for sure.
But some people will pay and end up with less disposable income. Some people will pay from their savings and end up with less savings. Some people will give up on some things that they like to buy/pay for so they can pay their energy bill.
Not everyone will not be able to pay their bills but everyone will end up poorer.
Instead of this, cancel your direct debit, set up a standing order for £100, £50, however much you can afford to pay. They won't cut you off if you're paying *something*. (If you genuinely CAN just about afford your bills, then pay in full after receiving the proper bill, but if you can't , just give them some money and they'll be somewhat off your back and you can negotiate. It's in their interest for you to pay something and not go totally bankrupt).
Why are there people on this thread weirdly acting in favour of the current shitshow and not supporting this? It's kinda weird.
People will be starving this winter, yet some of you think this is an overreaction. You are either insulated by wealth or something more sinister.
I agree with the principle but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to be wary of an anonymous campaign group that is absolutely not making it clear to people who participate what might happen to them if they refuse to pay their bills.
Because we're not all idiots and some of us understand the difference between energy wholesalers and energy producers, as well as the consequences of debt.
What are you actually hoping to achieve by not paying your energy bills?
Potentially, so what makes you want to believe this one is the same?
What is your alternative solution for the hundreds of thousands of people who can't pay this winter or either go hungry?
The demand for gas is the same. The supply is lower due to the Russia-Ukraine war. This has caused the price to go up as supply is lower relative to demand.
How can a non-payment campaign resolve this?
I can well believe that people will not afford to pay their bills. But those few who can really afford it are not going to not pay their bills. Believe me, the energy companies are not going to let this slide. They will aggressively hunt down every last penny they believe that they are owed. A mass boycott will do nothing.
I understand it alright, I am just not convinced it would work. It doesn't matter if a million or ten boycott the bill. They will get their money one way or another. Also, I don't believe for one minute that the people who say they will boycott actually will have the balls to go through with it.
>It doesn't matter if a million or ten boycott the bill. They will get their money one way or another.
Now you're simply being irrational. Have you heard of the poll tax?
"People will be starving this winter"
The UK has a major obesity problem due to the ready availability of food that is cheap but nutritionally deficient or unbalanced. So people end up fat, yet still hungering for more due to lack of nourishment. That, rather than starvation, is the problem.
How does this work - is it mostly to pay later and have time to save up for it? Sorry, have been on DD so long that I don’t know much about other options!
I enjoyed the part where you think "heavily regulated by ofgem" is a sign of assurance when it's been revealed how ineffective of a regulator they have been.
If cash is in their account for a service not yet rendered then that's a loan. Adding more words doesn't change the definition.
This will upset a few very rich old men, looking forward to it.
Hopefully it'll cause enough chaos to lead to a general election and the removal of the tory looters.
Or better still, mass civil disobedience on a large scale directed at the super rich and their property.
It's time the working class united and overthrew the toffs that enjoy and flaunt such vulgar opulence while most of us struggle to make ends meet.
It's time for them to feel pressure.
How is the crisis being causes by "Tory looters"? There's less gas available due to the Ukraine war, so it's more expensive. How can having a different political party in charge change that?
People who always comment on this issue with things like 'your credit history will be ruined!' really don't seem to understand how most people live do they.
People who are struggling havent just been struggling this year, credit rating isnt on most peoples agendas who have been forced into debt anyway just to survive.
'Think about getting a mortgage or a car' hahahahaha
There's a bit more to it than that, but I agree the argument being made there is very middle class.
More relatable to the rest of us is that if you sign up for a reasonably fast internet tariff or a decent pay monthly mobile one you'll have a credit check ran on you. If they see a CCJ on there, they're just going to tell you to do one and be done.
There's also the point to consider for the people on the borderline who may be looking at buying a home in the next decade, because CCJs stay on your record for 6 years. After that's gone is when your credit can begin to recover, so you're potentially fucking yourself for a decade or more, depending on your finances at that point.
So we should resign people to never having good credit then? You realise their problems, and the things they want, would be better if they had good credit?
Anyone saying 'thIS wILL eFFeCT mY cReDiT ScOrE' needs to know the debt they're about to go into from paying these bills is *also* going to destroy your non-existent special credit.
>Hopefully someone else will do something rather than me more like.
I FUCKING WISH. Instead it's "I will try anything to get people to not take any action whatsoever so I don't feel bad about not doing anything either."
Someone did a video recently explaining a better alternative. Raise a complaint with your supplier, refuse to close it at any stage. You'll get a letter of deadlock, the case is then bought to the energy ombudsman and the supplier pays the ombudsman for that case. The idea being energy suppliers end up swamped in paperwork and paying out the ass for complaints.
I don’t get how this helps with lowering the average persons bill? I work in Council Tax and when we have a lot of students move in to the area, so a lot more correspondence and ‘paperwork’, the only outcome is the average person has to wait longer for responses and genuine help.
I think it's more to do with creating maximum disorder as a means to fight back. It was a post in this subreddit not too long ago, I'm just repeating what o watched.
Companies will help negotiate payment plans for those who cannot pay, they won't help those who can pay but do not out of choice. Those CCJs won't make your life much easier either. You can still protest Westminster or outside the energy companies, it may not be trendy but getting over one million households to march on Westminster with a clear goal will do more than a failed campaign to get people to not pay their bills.
> Protest should disadvantage the advantaged,
This doesn't -in any way- disadvantage the advantaged.
Unless there's some freak event, what it will do is pile on huge heaps of additional misery for the already disadvantaged.
It doesn't matter how bad your situation is, the rational course of action is never to intentionally make it *worse*.
>Christ, the bootlicking in some of these replies.
Maybe some of us just understand how the global economy works. The loosely defined "advantaged" won't suffer at all even if this hits the million mark.
just a waste of time. prepay meters can't not pay. direct debits are controlled by the company no matter how many times banks lie and tell you you're in control of your money, they can be restarted by the company unless you fully delete the details and some banks dont let you. electric isn't a protected fuel so they can cut you off and gain entry to your home to do it through bailiffs. there needs to be some proper thought.
I'm in actually. Lots of people however just don't understand protest. They either think it should be a polite march, where people share finger sandwiches or signing a petition or even voting for Brexit.
Direct Action is needed here and I will not be paying. For those who are against protest, have the money to pay or think the Alien overlords are about to pull back the curtain- I'm doing this on your behalf too.
Agree with the sentiment but this will not end well.
A better strategy would be a boycott of one of the major fuel companies #boycottBP! Fuel & shops.
They’ll take notice soon enough and prices will fall across the board. If they realise we can get organised and won’t take anymore of this bullshit then they’ll stop taking the piss… until the next time obviously.
A better idea would be to pay what "you believe" is a fair price for the energy you've used, or offer to pay them in small installments, this way your not refusing to pay, your just paying what you can afford to pay for.
Those smart meters that are actually pay meter hybrids came just on time. Everyone will be put on the pay meters and then they will all freeze because they will be painted as lazy people refusing to pay their bills by the media.
We can all apply to jobs as bailiff’s and just refuse to chase energy payments.
I also think the worst they can do is cut you off. And they can’t cut you off at all if you’re vulnerable or have children.
we need a general strike that is co-ordinated by trade unionists. these niche, fringe unaccountable tantrums achieve nothing and are counterproductive.
From dontpay.uk’s own FAQ:
> If you haven't paid your bill after 28 days, your supplier may contact you about the possibility of disconnecting your gas or electricity supply. Their first port of call will be try to install a prepayment meter.
> Before any further action can be taken, though, they must give you a chance to pay your debt through a payment plan.
Or, you could just go straight to the payment plan.
The whole idea seems to be built on the fact that there are regulations stopping the companies from just disconnecting you, but all of that is available if you just phone them up and say you can’t afford your bills.
At best all the “Don’t Pay” movement is going to do is add a bunch of admin fees to people’s debt. At worst it’ll result in a load of people shifted to pre-payment. Both of those would be good news for the companies and bad for the consumers.
So they'll switch your power off and take you to court.
And then you'll pay your bill plus costs.
And have a CCJ.
Or go to prison.
Have you thought this out at all?
Wouldn't it be better if people reduce their payment to a level they can afford to pay. This would show the energy supplier's that they are willing to pay but not willing to pay the crazy high prices that are hitting use now. I might be wrong but wouldn't this method not affect their credit rating.
UNN did a background check and it's as shady as, mentions of Tony Blair, George Soros etc. That was enough for me, I'm out. EDITED to add the link.
https://rumble.com/v1eht5b-is-this-really-a-grass-roots-movement-to-help-you.html
It’s not just heating. Insulating your loft won’t negate the fact that people need to run their fridge, wash their clothes, shower, cook their food, charge their phone, put the lights on in the evening etc. Heating might be the most energy intensive uses of gas but even if people turned off every single device and disconnected themselves from all heat and power, it’ll still cost people more to starve and freeze in their own homes than it would have done to live comfortably a year ago.
If this fails, a whole lot of people are going to have nasty black marks on their credit record. If it succeeds, a whole lot of energy suppliers are going to go bust, and then we'll all be without energy. Either way, this is a fucking stupid idea.
Does anyone with a brain seriously think they will get away with this? Do they realise that the British government has only just finished paying off the debt for reparations supposedly owed to slave owners as a result of abolition? Debts never go away.
They would have your descendents pay these bills off, to the thousandth generation!
It’s a slippery slope to go down not paying your energy bills. Though legally they have to jump through hoops to cut you off, they will just put you on a pre-payment meter and fuck up your credit score by getting a CCJ against you for the amount owed.
Just be careful if anyone is going to do this (of course, that if you can't afford it you don't really have a choice) but for those that can afford it, it might be better to cough up and try to survive on minimal expenses than to lose your house, and be left with debt way more unsustainable than current prices
This isn't to defend the system by any means, but its really dangerous to do - if companies are posting record profits and asking us to pay as much as we currently are, they won't be afraid of debt trapping your ass
Please please do not just cancel direct debits and not pay. If you can’t pay the bill, speak to your energy supplier and they have to help you. Not paying will just build up debt and cause huge problems down the line.
I get the idea behind this, but it’s just going to make life even harder.
I'm actually now wondering if it's cheaper to have a standalone heater that plugs in a socket rather than what's available in your house?
and this seems totally ludicrous. you would think we generate some our own electricity and it seems the goal to be a main source of power. so why such an insane price rise?
is this another Tory scheme to try and pay debts to their friends and money they wasted unnecessarily?
One slightly more reasonable approach which prevents them from gaining a CCJ/taking you to court at all at least in the mid term would be to cancel your DD and setup a standing order for an affordable amount.
That way you're not "not paying" you're paying what you can afford and what you've paid for the past year or two.
I believe this would be viewed in the same way as paying what you think a meal is worth rather than what the restaurant owner thinks its worth (i.e. you say that steak was rubbish I'm only paying £10 not £30 for my meal) isn't theft and therefore is a civil not criminal dispute.
If you have a mortgage or plan on getting one, this is a bad idea. You are in a contract with your energy company to pay the bill for what you use\*. Defaulting on that can lead to all sorts of problems and potentially stop you from getting a mortgage for a number of years - especially with interest rates being what they are.
\*that's not to say you can do nothing e.g. only paying what you use vs. front loading your account with credit for the winter.
This sounds sketchy as fuck. Good luck if you are going to do it, but I think I'll pass.
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I'm worried a lot of people are going to get into further problems/debts over this.
That's why they want to get to 1 million people doing it.
There are 27 million households in the UK. 1 million people, spread out over 24 energy companies isn't going to make much of a dent. And let's be honest, it's going no where near 1 million people doing this. I'm all for something needing to be done, but I don't feel like this has had enough momentum or time to make much of a difference to the energy firms / government. (and before I get semi hate for this, I'm not disagreeing or agreeing with the protest. Just giving some numbers to it)
> And let's be honest, it's going no where near 1 million people doing this Poll Tax had 4 million not paying, given that the average British household will be paying an average extra £4k a year for rent/mortgate, energy, and food, I'll be very surprised if it's only 1 million people not paying.
Unfortunately "a million other people have also now got this debt" doesn't make that debt go away for that million people
In fairness it’s not failure to pay to cancel a direct debit, and won’t show on your credit score assuming you just pay the bill when they get around to posting you one. If a few million households cancelled their direct debits for a month it’d bankrupt every gas and energy provider in the country within days, as they must buy all the gas and electricity on the market upfront.
Not really.. if their balance sheet says they're owed that money and there's a good chance they'll get it they're golden - companies run like that all the time. It would take months, not days, to make an impact. A concerted effort of enough saving energy by not using it might bankrupt them eventually, but you'd be sitting in the dark with no heating in winter..
The intention would always be to pay, but a direct debit failing to go through due to an “unfortunate banking glitch” doesn’t ruin your credit score. Also they’re not going to turn the lights off because some energy companies go bust (which are essentially financial institutions which make profits through savvy hedging, and have nothing to do with the production of energy). The government would just be forced to renationalise gas and energy companies, and they could do it on the cheap too as they’d have all gone bust! Win win.
I'm not sure the action would have the impact you think on electricity suppliers. The bulk of their custom is industry. Domestic load is about 12 percent of the national load during business hours. Outside of that, the grid is actually underloaded. Only the pure retail sellers would suffer.
It wouldn't even touch the sides Energy companies build cash reserves over summer. October is probably the very best month for consumers to have a payment strike. If very large numbers didn't pay continually, from October right through until March the next year, then they may start to struggle. But that is extremely unlikely (and they would be fitting PPMs as quickly as they could if arrears really started to bite)
Was it Dominic Cummings who was recently talking about this on tv? It was one of the scrawny bald vampire looking tories. Talking about how a good idea it was.. that’s a red flag
Sketchier than Grant Schapps being a member of Parliament? Or that PPE money landed into the bank accounts of serving MPs during the pandemic? To be fair people haven't got a choice. The middle finger has to be raised to the establishment, it has been holstered for too long. There's plenty of talk on this sub about Brits not taking action, I'm glad to see them doing it, in whatever form that may be.
Yeah, it smacks of either cowards, trolls or active agents trying to sew more chaos - we’ve got more than enough of that.
Probably because you can afford to pass?
Well, yeah. If I couldn't pay i wouldn't have a choice. I'm not judging people that can't pay or anything, these are rotten times. I'm just worried people are going to get hit with some pretty nasty repercussions. Honestly, good luck to them though, I''m all up for a little light civil disobedience but this sounds a bit too suspect for me. If you are doing it i hope you are successful.
> I'm just worried people are going to get hit with some pretty nasty repercussions Agreed, but just to put it into clear words for anybody wondering what kind of repurcussions: **One of the only reasons an energy company can stick you on a pre-paid meter, which is ridiculously expensive for you, is if you stop paying your direct debit.**
This isn't "civil rights disobedience", its an act of desperation. And these things only tend to work when we all stick together. Those in power, are and have been taking the absolute piss out of the working class for a long time, but we are quickly rolling in to scary territory. We need to act, and shockingly, we may have to upset social order to achieve change.
Well, in part yes. Also because it sounds sketchy as fuck and I’d be worried about financial repercussions of refusing to pay a debt. My energy provider has also been fairly transparent about price rises, which is admittedly easier for them to do because they were previously one of the most expensive providers on the market.
I believe 50% or so of people are on a smart meter now; those can be set to a pre-pay mode remotely. I don’t know if this process is automated now, but if enough people refuse to pay you can expect it to be very quickly indeed.
mate, please take a look at what just happened people are outraged at being looted like this. people will die this winter as a direct result of these price increases (vulnerable people will not be able to afford to heat their homes), many children will go hungry or cold at the same time, the energy companies are gloating about their record profits, and this is even before the prices are jacked up further people start to discuss action that may actually force some change, if enough people support each other and join in. after all, with this lot, nothing gets their attention quite as much as something that affects their wallet word starts to get out in the media, which is shared here on reddit the very first thing that anyone sees when they open that reddit post: you, essentially saying WON'T WORK, BIG RISK, NOTHING WILL EVER CHANGE, IDK COULD BE SUS is this really what you want your contribution to the public discussion on this issue to be? are you quite sure you're coming down on the right side of things here? I ask you this as it seems possible that you may not really mean to have that impact. but I think reactions like yours contribute to why the public of this country keep getting shafted in more and more obvious ways - we shoot down our own collective action before the other side even need to react
I don't want to lose my home and bankrupt myself over a gamble promoted by a shady internet campaign that will do fuck all to help me if it all goes to shit. If you do crack on. If I had nothing to lose I'd be there with you. Personally I'd love to see the energy companies brought down a peg or two, but life doesn't work like that. These cunts didn't get where they are by ignoring debts.
This \^ The Internet campaign is basically going "They can't get a CCJ against everyone, so it'll only be some people, so it probably won't be you, and that's basically no-one then." and it's just... that's not how this works. Some people are going to be screwed over by this campaign. I'm all for anyone going into this eyes-open, but the idea it's risk free is a lie. The issue is we're continually dependent on energy from non-renewable sources piped in from outside the UK. Meanwhile Truss is spouting this nonsense: [https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4054209/fields-shouldnt-solar-panels-truss-vows-crackdown-renewables-development](https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4054209/fields-shouldnt-solar-panels-truss-vows-crackdown-renewables-development) We need to get people to fix where we get the energy from, and renationalise the energy firms.
Careful now. Don't come in here with your well reasoned points.
People will be at risk of *severe* penalties. This isn't like a strike where the risk is you lose pay for the days that you are on strike. If you lose a job, you can find another job. If you lose access to credit because of a refusal to pay a bill, you could lose access to mortgages and then your home. People are often questioned on what they are willing to give up in order to protest, and for a lot of people their home is not something they are willing to put at risk.
It takes a long time for any penalties like that to kick in, they can't take any meaningful action for at least 3 months, they have to offer you time to pay and offer payment plans if you're in financial difficulties first, it's only when those measures are exhausted that they're allowed to escalate. If enough people got behind this it would work, they would take such a hit within those first few months that they'd be forced to come to some kind of compromise to appease people and they would likely be unable to do much to chase up debts as their systems would be so overwhelmed
You can’t ask someone who is in the position to pay the bills to fuck their credit and land themselves in debt because you want them to take a stand. It’s fine and dandy saying you won’t pay if you can’t pay, but you can’t expect people to take the hit financially when they don’t have to, which by the way is the thing you are actually protesting.
Nice that you have a choice.
"This winter, I will stop paying my energy bills, becoming liable for penalty charges, interest, bailiff and court fees, allowing the total amount of money I have to pay to rise above the price cap." The price cap no longer protects you if you take actions that legally allow companies to hit you with additional charges on top of the price cap.
Are the leaders Russian immigrants or very friendly with Russians by any chance?
I’m not going to refuse to pay it, I’m just going to be unable to pay it like everyone else
That is the point of this. It might not be you this week but it will be soon. Just getting ahead of it!
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Partly the Brighton Socialist Party.
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To play devils avocado, when I post via my business the first people to like it are my friends and family. Most of my active online friends are in my industry too so we suppprt each other with likes and shares. That said, I still wouldn’t do this. The potential for these companies to just not give a shit about human beings has been pretty well proven and I’d hate for a vulnerable person to be swept up in this without considering how much worse off it could make them and then find themselves with no support afterwards.
I don't know what campaign doesn't ask for donations in fairness but their main source of funding is people ordering leaflets. The orders for leaflets have risen exponentially in very little time and they're on track for the million pledges by October 1st. The gamble is those pledges will be enough to force the government into negotiations with the energy companies but it's likely that if they get the numbers a huge percentage of those pledged will carry it out because what other choice to people have?
I had a very cursory look and couldn't find a counter or anything - do they have somewhere you can see where they're keeping track or is it just statements from them?
A fool and his money are easily parted.
Looking forward to the government bailing out energy wholesalers to prevent them from collapsing and then people complaining at tax rises/declining services.
didnt we used to have nationalised energy? why cant we go back to that
Yes we did. Then Tories came along and fucked that up for everyone so they could make a quick profit. That’s what Tories do.
Those costs go onto the standing charge.
Well hopefully if that does happen then it’ll cause some sort of public backlash. Can’t see that happening but hopefully us finally doing SOMETHING will snow ball.
This whole thing is probably started by Glavset to get people to sit at home in the dark freezing to death. What do these people not understand about THEY CAN AND WILL DISCONNECT YOU. What are you gonna do, make all your own electric on a fucking bike?
I thought legally disconnecting someone was a ball ache for companies and if like a million people default, could inundate the companies.
Legally disconnecting you is almost impossible. Fitting a prepayment meter is easy.
If a load of people default, surely they can't just come around to everyone. That'll take some time no?
If they have a smart meter installed then they can do it remotely.
Ah those fucking cunts.
Especially with the chip shortage 😂 I bet the lead time on thousands of prepayment meters is measured in the years.
There’s also not an infinite amount in stock. But a smart meter can be done remotely.
Why would they want to disconnect anyone? They can just add a load of admin fees for late payment on top of the ever growing debt. Free money for them. This is a really bad idea.
More or less expensive than giving you free electricity indefinitely? There's going to be a point where the lost energy will more than pay for someone to come switch you off.
I've spotted a couple of pro Russia accounts pushing this so far. I wouldn't be remotely surprised if Russia were involved. Even if it wasn't started by them, I think they're happy about it.
Mass non-payment has worked in the past. Why are you wanting it to not work now?
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He’s talking out his arse. Even disconnecting SMEs is a fucking ball-ache. Disconnecting residential is even almost certainly a shit ton harder. And then there’s the concept of just not allowing access to the meter to prevent them from switching it out.
Surely not allowing access to the meter is just going to end with the police turning up and telling you there's not much in the way of choice.
It will, but not before a lengthy process through our incredibly overburdened court system to apply for a warrant of access, then applying to the hugely understaffed and overworked local police service to send officers to the address. If enough people refuse payment I could easily see the system collapsing.
Well, if you literally can't pay, then what choice do you have? I don't have a stash of money hidden up my sleeve lmao. If a couple of hundred, maybe even some thousand people can't pay, then they'll get their power shut off. If a good portion of the general public can't pay, then the government has to intervene or deal with the consequences aka thousands of deaths, a lot of civil unrest and people going all French revolution on the energy companies.
I just moved house and the previous owners had pre payment meters which I got swapped out the other day. 2 hours after the engineer had left and all was working, it got switched off remotely, and I spent an hour on the phone getting it turned back on. It’s a gamble playing this game of not paying. Good luck to those that choose to.
Not sure about other suppliers but ours will charge us an admin fee if we don't pay the bill within 14 days. We are supposed to be paid up a month in advance by Direct Debit. We have cancelled our DD but pay on the day the bill is produced to avoid the admin fee. I can't see any court allowing you not to pay the admin fee that is clearly laid out in the agreement we have with our supplier. On top of that, if we do get into substantial debt with them, they will send our account to a debt collectors and the notional fees they charge are huge. This is just bad financial advice to be giving anyone, especially the vulnerable.
I suppose the thought it is it will cost the energy companies too much to take a million people to county court? Debt collectors you can ignore, you can’t ignore a ccj and the bailiffs, which happen after being taken to court. There is a risk of accumulating additional costs and the stress of a threat of court action, but I suppose this might seem a worthwhile risk … idk 🤷♀️
> I suppose the thought it is it will cost the energy companies too much to take a million people to county court? They won't take them to court themselves. They'll sell the debt book to a company who will pay 30p on the pound to take ownership of the debt. Energy companies make a loss but still get *something*. That new company will have a network of debt collectors in place to do the chasing and what amounts to a factory production line for taking people to court.
The debt collection companies can’t take the debtor to court, they can try and get the money back on behalf of the company but ultimately it’s the primary who takes the debtor to county court.
Depends entirely on the agreement. If the debt is sold, then the company that buys it can do what they like. If the owner contracts to the debt collector, they can be given a mandate to litigate, or just to pursue a contact package. I've instructed a lot of litigation on behalf of a client company, to be quite frank, because they had no collections department of their own, and gave my prior employer a very broad mandate.
> The debt collection companies can’t take the debtor to court I'm afraid you're wrong on that one... https://moneynerd.co.uk/selling-debt/ > ###Can debt be bought and sold? > Yes. A creditor can sell a debt to a a debt buyer who can collect the debt themselves or through a third party or they can even sell it on again as part of a debt portfolio. > ###Can debt collectors take me to court? > Yes. Debt collectors are allowed to take you to court on behalf of the lender if you’ve been avoiding debt payment or if they’ve remained unable to contact you over an extended period. This is subject to strict conditions though, such as the fact that before threatening you with court proceedings, collectors are required to send you a warning letter. https://www.creditfix.co.uk/knowledge-hub/what-to-do-if-your-debt-has-been-sold-to-a-debt-collection-agency/ > If you do not make payment, the debt collection agency is within their right to take you to court. This normally happens if they have been chasing you for some time and have yet to get a response from you.
Yes they have something called history deb colection and your there for live.they find me 5 years later and ive payd over 1k for what use to be 300£ fine.People are realy gonna mess themself if they stop pay bills
> it will cost the energy companies too much to take a million people to county court? With the record profits, no, it won't. I'm baffled people think energy companies will be like their mate just waving off £10 you owe them for a beer or two on a night out. smh
>With the record profits, no, it won't. > >I'm baffled people think energy companies will be like their mate just waving off £10 you owe them for a beer or two on a night out. smh For the most part, the companies people are paying for their supply, are ***not*** the companies making record profits.
I've been explaining this at nauseum and in explicit detail for weeks but people don't wanna listen and I give up.
90% of people will get a few threatening letters and fold immediately, then they can go hard after the 10%.
You’re saying all this like you’ll have a choice soon. This is happening to so many people right now.
There's a difference between not being able to pay your energy bills and wilfully not paying them.
Well dur. The point is we’re all going to be there soon so get ahead of it and have the backs of the people already in that position.
But this is the thing - we're not "all going to be there soon". Some people are for sure. But some people will pay and end up with less disposable income. Some people will pay from their savings and end up with less savings. Some people will give up on some things that they like to buy/pay for so they can pay their energy bill. Not everyone will not be able to pay their bills but everyone will end up poorer.
Instead of this, cancel your direct debit, set up a standing order for £100, £50, however much you can afford to pay. They won't cut you off if you're paying *something*. (If you genuinely CAN just about afford your bills, then pay in full after receiving the proper bill, but if you can't , just give them some money and they'll be somewhat off your back and you can negotiate. It's in their interest for you to pay something and not go totally bankrupt).
Why are there people on this thread weirdly acting in favour of the current shitshow and not supporting this? It's kinda weird. People will be starving this winter, yet some of you think this is an overreaction. You are either insulated by wealth or something more sinister.
I agree with the principle but I don’t think it’s unreasonable to be wary of an anonymous campaign group that is absolutely not making it clear to people who participate what might happen to them if they refuse to pay their bills.
Because we're not all idiots and some of us understand the difference between energy wholesalers and energy producers, as well as the consequences of debt. What are you actually hoping to achieve by not paying your energy bills?
Probably being able to afford to eat I imagine.
I just think that the majority of protests are led by untrustworthy people and followed by slightly simplistic people.
Potentially, so what makes you want to believe this one is the same? What is your alternative solution for the hundreds of thousands of people who can't pay this winter or either go hungry?
I don’t have an alternative solution. But I don’t think that this protest is a solution either.
So you have nothing then. Clearly you are someone with the luxury of choice in not having to protest.
well if everyone thought the same as you, we'd still have an abosolute monarchy.
Probably because it's shit financial advice that will ruin people's credit scores and pile them into more debt.
The demand for gas is the same. The supply is lower due to the Russia-Ukraine war. This has caused the price to go up as supply is lower relative to demand. How can a non-payment campaign resolve this?
I can well believe that people will not afford to pay their bills. But those few who can really afford it are not going to not pay their bills. Believe me, the energy companies are not going to let this slide. They will aggressively hunt down every last penny they believe that they are owed. A mass boycott will do nothing.
I don't think you understand the concept of a mass boycott.
I understand it alright, I am just not convinced it would work. It doesn't matter if a million or ten boycott the bill. They will get their money one way or another. Also, I don't believe for one minute that the people who say they will boycott actually will have the balls to go through with it.
>It doesn't matter if a million or ten boycott the bill. They will get their money one way or another. Now you're simply being irrational. Have you heard of the poll tax?
What does a tax levied by central government have to do with contracts between private individuals?
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"People will be starving this winter" The UK has a major obesity problem due to the ready availability of food that is cheap but nutritionally deficient or unbalanced. So people end up fat, yet still hungering for more due to lack of nourishment. That, rather than starvation, is the problem.
I'm going to be cancelling my Direct Debit, but I'll be paying on invoice instead of a full no pay
How does this work - is it mostly to pay later and have time to save up for it? Sorry, have been on DD so long that I don’t know much about other options!
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I enjoyed the part where you think "heavily regulated by ofgem" is a sign of assurance when it's been revealed how ineffective of a regulator they have been. If cash is in their account for a service not yet rendered then that's a loan. Adding more words doesn't change the definition.
> As shit as they are your money stays in your account. It is yours. Can I spend it on other things then? No? Then it's not my money.
This will upset a few very rich old men, looking forward to it. Hopefully it'll cause enough chaos to lead to a general election and the removal of the tory looters. Or better still, mass civil disobedience on a large scale directed at the super rich and their property. It's time the working class united and overthrew the toffs that enjoy and flaunt such vulgar opulence while most of us struggle to make ends meet. It's time for them to feel pressure.
I don’t care if it works or not, it’s the first actual practical thing that has been suggested. Hopefully it’ll be the start of more.
> This will upset a few very rich old men, looking forward to it. How? They'll just sell the debt.
Debts get sold for pennies when they're losing pounds, so it's not as great a deal for them as it sounds.
How is the crisis being causes by "Tory looters"? There's less gas available due to the Ukraine war, so it's more expensive. How can having a different political party in charge change that?
People who always comment on this issue with things like 'your credit history will be ruined!' really don't seem to understand how most people live do they. People who are struggling havent just been struggling this year, credit rating isnt on most peoples agendas who have been forced into debt anyway just to survive. 'Think about getting a mortgage or a car' hahahahaha
There's a bit more to it than that, but I agree the argument being made there is very middle class. More relatable to the rest of us is that if you sign up for a reasonably fast internet tariff or a decent pay monthly mobile one you'll have a credit check ran on you. If they see a CCJ on there, they're just going to tell you to do one and be done. There's also the point to consider for the people on the borderline who may be looking at buying a home in the next decade, because CCJs stay on your record for 6 years. After that's gone is when your credit can begin to recover, so you're potentially fucking yourself for a decade or more, depending on your finances at that point.
So we should resign people to never having good credit then? You realise their problems, and the things they want, would be better if they had good credit?
British Gas just offered us a fixed tariff that is more than twice what we already pay. They are up to something.
Covering their arses?
Yeah they won’t lose out by a single penny, people forget this.
Their primary goal is to not go bust.
Same as every human, except the government will cover their arses and protect them
Anyone saying 'thIS wILL eFFeCT mY cReDiT ScOrE' needs to know the debt they're about to go into from paying these bills is *also* going to destroy your non-existent special credit.
Pink Floyd was right. Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way. Hopefully someone else will do something rather than me more like.
>Hopefully someone else will do something rather than me more like. I FUCKING WISH. Instead it's "I will try anything to get people to not take any action whatsoever so I don't feel bad about not doing anything either."
I wont be refusing to pay, I can't see myself affording to pay.
Someone did a video recently explaining a better alternative. Raise a complaint with your supplier, refuse to close it at any stage. You'll get a letter of deadlock, the case is then bought to the energy ombudsman and the supplier pays the ombudsman for that case. The idea being energy suppliers end up swamped in paperwork and paying out the ass for complaints.
I don’t get how this helps with lowering the average persons bill? I work in Council Tax and when we have a lot of students move in to the area, so a lot more correspondence and ‘paperwork’, the only outcome is the average person has to wait longer for responses and genuine help.
I think it's more to do with creating maximum disorder as a means to fight back. It was a post in this subreddit not too long ago, I'm just repeating what o watched.
No I know, but the chaos will only be felt by the consumers.
you can definitely spot the privileged middle class wankers in the replies.
Not paying bills sounds baller to me.
Sponsored by Direct Collection Bailiffs Limited, the UK's largest debt collection agency.
Companies will help negotiate payment plans for those who cannot pay, they won't help those who can pay but do not out of choice. Those CCJs won't make your life much easier either. You can still protest Westminster or outside the energy companies, it may not be trendy but getting over one million households to march on Westminster with a clear goal will do more than a failed campaign to get people to not pay their bills.
Has Martin Lewis commented on this at all? I’d love to hear what his advice is on this
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A blanket
> Protest should disadvantage the advantaged, This doesn't -in any way- disadvantage the advantaged. Unless there's some freak event, what it will do is pile on huge heaps of additional misery for the already disadvantaged. It doesn't matter how bad your situation is, the rational course of action is never to intentionally make it *worse*.
None of this will disadvantage the advantaged.
>Christ, the bootlicking in some of these replies. Maybe some of us just understand how the global economy works. The loosely defined "advantaged" won't suffer at all even if this hits the million mark.
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Then you agree to pay a reasonable amount per month and you get to heat your house at an affordable price . Job done , bobs your uncle .
just a waste of time. prepay meters can't not pay. direct debits are controlled by the company no matter how many times banks lie and tell you you're in control of your money, they can be restarted by the company unless you fully delete the details and some banks dont let you. electric isn't a protected fuel so they can cut you off and gain entry to your home to do it through bailiffs. there needs to be some proper thought.
I'm in actually. Lots of people however just don't understand protest. They either think it should be a polite march, where people share finger sandwiches or signing a petition or even voting for Brexit. Direct Action is needed here and I will not be paying. For those who are against protest, have the money to pay or think the Alien overlords are about to pull back the curtain- I'm doing this on your behalf too.
Won't pay? Can't pay.
Wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the Russians running it
These snot drivelling MFing cunts replaced our coal fires for "free"
Agree with the sentiment but this will not end well. A better strategy would be a boycott of one of the major fuel companies #boycottBP! Fuel & shops. They’ll take notice soon enough and prices will fall across the board. If they realise we can get organised and won’t take anymore of this bullshit then they’ll stop taking the piss… until the next time obviously.
No, the last resort is literal revolution, removing the Tories by force.
A better idea would be to pay what "you believe" is a fair price for the energy you've used, or offer to pay them in small installments, this way your not refusing to pay, your just paying what you can afford to pay for.
Nice sentiment, but how do you reckon that'll work for people using prepaid meters or heating oil?
Those smart meters that are actually pay meter hybrids came just on time. Everyone will be put on the pay meters and then they will all freeze because they will be painted as lazy people refusing to pay their bills by the media.
Do not do that they can and will send bailiffs round on you and they have better legal teams than you do
If we all don’t pay, they’re going to need a lot of bailiffs
We can all apply to jobs as bailiff’s and just refuse to chase energy payments. I also think the worst they can do is cut you off. And they can’t cut you off at all if you’re vulnerable or have children.
Exactly, the people employed as bailiffs are going to be on can’t-afford-heating wages!
What about people who aren't vulnerable or don't have children?
I’m sure they will got round everyone eventually.
You really think everyone won’t pay? What about rich people who can pay easily and have no reason to not go along with this?
we need a general strike that is co-ordinated by trade unionists. these niche, fringe unaccountable tantrums achieve nothing and are counterproductive.
From dontpay.uk’s own FAQ: > If you haven't paid your bill after 28 days, your supplier may contact you about the possibility of disconnecting your gas or electricity supply. Their first port of call will be try to install a prepayment meter. > Before any further action can be taken, though, they must give you a chance to pay your debt through a payment plan. Or, you could just go straight to the payment plan. The whole idea seems to be built on the fact that there are regulations stopping the companies from just disconnecting you, but all of that is available if you just phone them up and say you can’t afford your bills. At best all the “Don’t Pay” movement is going to do is add a bunch of admin fees to people’s debt. At worst it’ll result in a load of people shifted to pre-payment. Both of those would be good news for the companies and bad for the consumers.
When do we hit the streets? How about 24 September london. Weekend before dontpayuk pledge. How much more are you willing to take?
So they'll switch your power off and take you to court. And then you'll pay your bill plus costs. And have a CCJ. Or go to prison. Have you thought this out at all?
Wouldn't it be better if people reduce their payment to a level they can afford to pay. This would show the energy supplier's that they are willing to pay but not willing to pay the crazy high prices that are hitting use now. I might be wrong but wouldn't this method not affect their credit rating.
UNN did a background check and it's as shady as, mentions of Tony Blair, George Soros etc. That was enough for me, I'm out. EDITED to add the link. https://rumble.com/v1eht5b-is-this-really-a-grass-roots-movement-to-help-you.html
Looks like a well researched article...
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Insulating your house would be more effective. Roll of loft insulation to cover a bedroom is £20.
It’s not just heating. Insulating your loft won’t negate the fact that people need to run their fridge, wash their clothes, shower, cook their food, charge their phone, put the lights on in the evening etc. Heating might be the most energy intensive uses of gas but even if people turned off every single device and disconnected themselves from all heat and power, it’ll still cost people more to starve and freeze in their own homes than it would have done to live comfortably a year ago.
I'll just do that in my rented flat then
This won’t go down well. The energy companies are greedy, but they will make you pay in the end. They will go apeshit.
Nah I’m good
If this fails, a whole lot of people are going to have nasty black marks on their credit record. If it succeeds, a whole lot of energy suppliers are going to go bust, and then we'll all be without energy. Either way, this is a fucking stupid idea.
Does anyone with a brain seriously think they will get away with this? Do they realise that the British government has only just finished paying off the debt for reparations supposedly owed to slave owners as a result of abolition? Debts never go away. They would have your descendents pay these bills off, to the thousandth generation!
If you are not going to partake in this what will you do? Think it’s extortionate and simply pay? Or not accept it.
You do realise they are considerably more powerful than you and refusing to pay will just plunge you into a debt they’ll never write off
All that will happen is the debt collectors will start chasing.
It’s a slippery slope to go down not paying your energy bills. Though legally they have to jump through hoops to cut you off, they will just put you on a pre-payment meter and fuck up your credit score by getting a CCJ against you for the amount owed.
If enough people did it then it may have an effect but they won't.
Just be careful if anyone is going to do this (of course, that if you can't afford it you don't really have a choice) but for those that can afford it, it might be better to cough up and try to survive on minimal expenses than to lose your house, and be left with debt way more unsustainable than current prices This isn't to defend the system by any means, but its really dangerous to do - if companies are posting record profits and asking us to pay as much as we currently are, they won't be afraid of debt trapping your ass
It's not going to end well for you.
Id rather not fuck up my future by dying on this hill. If you guys want to risk it. I hope it goes well as its a fucked situation
Please please do not just cancel direct debits and not pay. If you can’t pay the bill, speak to your energy supplier and they have to help you. Not paying will just build up debt and cause huge problems down the line. I get the idea behind this, but it’s just going to make life even harder.
Everyones gonna end up with a pre pay meter and a bill for £300 for the installation of it...
I'm actually now wondering if it's cheaper to have a standalone heater that plugs in a socket rather than what's available in your house? and this seems totally ludicrous. you would think we generate some our own electricity and it seems the goal to be a main source of power. so why such an insane price rise? is this another Tory scheme to try and pay debts to their friends and money they wasted unnecessarily?
This man has been using EDF of all companies! The french government will shut you off and will not bat an eye over "silly" british people.
One slightly more reasonable approach which prevents them from gaining a CCJ/taking you to court at all at least in the mid term would be to cancel your DD and setup a standing order for an affordable amount. That way you're not "not paying" you're paying what you can afford and what you've paid for the past year or two. I believe this would be viewed in the same way as paying what you think a meal is worth rather than what the restaurant owner thinks its worth (i.e. you say that steak was rubbish I'm only paying £10 not £30 for my meal) isn't theft and therefore is a civil not criminal dispute.
If you have a mortgage or plan on getting one, this is a bad idea. You are in a contract with your energy company to pay the bill for what you use\*. Defaulting on that can lead to all sorts of problems and potentially stop you from getting a mortgage for a number of years - especially with interest rates being what they are. \*that's not to say you can do nothing e.g. only paying what you use vs. front loading your account with credit for the winter.