A politician says the long-running series of bans on private rental evictions during the worst of the Covid crisis could be a model for a ban on energy disconnection this autumn and winter.
Julie Gibson, Labour’s spokesperson on economic development on Lancashire county council, says: “What we really need is a moratorium on the threat of disconnection, with assurances given to those struggling that they will not be ‘cut off’ for the duration of the energy crisis. During Covid we saw a moratorium on evictions for those struggling to pay their rent. Surely it is not beyond us as a society to show similar compassion to those struggling with rising energy prices.”
The typical household energy bill is forecast to reach £3,582 a year in October when the price cap - the maximum suppliers can charge customers in England, Scotland and Wales for each unit of energy - next increases. It has been forecast to go up again to £4,266 in January.
Gibson, quoted in the Blackpool Gazette, continues: “We have seen many examples of people cutting back and, in some cases, selling possessions so they have enough money to pay their energy bills.
“If the reported increases do come into force many people will experience terrible fuel poverty with the additional worry that if they cannot afford to pay their bills, they may face their supply being disconnected.
“We need action to deal with the energy price cap but so far, we have seen little, or no, action from the government.“
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng - widely tipped to become Chancellor of the Exchequer if Liz Truss wins the Conservative party leadership and becomes Prime Minister - says households struggling with the rising cost of living in the UK would receive help this winter.
However, in an article in the Daily Mail, he has given few specifics but says a reversal on the increase to National Insurance and the introduction of a temporary moratorium on green energy levies were examples of what could be done.
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There is no crisis , if you do a bit of research you realise we're actually exporting energy
Like the last 2 years it's all part of a grand con job / scam
You'll own nothing and they'll be happy
A slow creeping to a situation where you don’t pay rent or energy and you are free to do so !!! Every day another crazy proposal comes forward 😂
That’s why I’m selling. Soon rent will be optional. They are looking at this in Scotland where even several months arrears is not mandatory.
My understanding is that it has been illegal to cut off a supply to a domestic property for a long time now, am I wrong ?
Until we know the per kWh energy costs and the daily Standing Charge it's impossible to know if we each individually have a problem or not.
The average mythical £3582 is completely meaningless. Is it based on the average usage from 2020 or the average usage over the last 12 months? Surely most people have tried to reduce their energy usage since last September and new appliances are more energy efficient so today's average use must be lower than last year's average use.
The monthly Direct Debit payments set by energy companies are often far too high and they are very slow to refund the credit balance.
They all seem to have a different policy on billing. EDF billing is horrendous. If you have a fixed monthly DD they only issue statements twice a year at which point they refund overpayments. Alternatively I think you can pay by variable DD and get a bill every month. The woman in the call centre seemed to get very confused about what was and wasn't possible.
British Gas are impossible to deal with unless you are retired or unemployed and have endless time for one sentence every 30 minutes messaging communication.
EON set DDs far too high and then fail to bill or refund credit balances. I had 5 electric accounts dumped on them last September when Symbio went bust. Paid every month by fixed DD. Only received regular statements on one account. Moved all 5 to Octopus in May. Eventually got final bills for 3 of them in July. All had credit balances. Promised refund by 29th July. It still hasn't arrived. Still haven't had final bill on 5th account.
Surely it shouldn't be that hard for utility companies to produce regular, accurate statements and devise multiple payment options that don't penalise people for not having a DD.
I’m having issues with bulb , got a shop that’s now empty , bills are in credit but according to them I have to double my payments 😂 🤦♀️
When my last supplier went bust EDF took me over, I now refuse to set up a DDR they email me a bill once a month, our usage is quite high as we have 3 families on site, our main house is split in two, my son and his family in one half, myself and wife in the other half, my older daughter and her family in a mobile home while we convert another property on site for them
George, I have problems with Bulb, I've had an empty house for the last 8 weeks while carrying out repairs, carpets go down today, I have refused to set up a DDR with them, they really don't like that, bill me and I'll pay for what I use
How to stay warm in the winter
Rub two politicians brain cells together -if You can find them that is
No George. We all know two brain cells don't exist. One existing is debatable. They must run on something. But what? Foolishness?
All of our smaller companies have gone bust, so we have ended up with two companies shell and octopus, their charges are exactly the same regardless of how we pay, is this the same for the entire country?
Most of the others charge more if you don't set up a Direct Debit. I think the amount extra varies from company to company but I seem to remember one of them is £84 a year extra.
Octopus are incredibly easy to deal with. UK call centre that actually answers the phone, staff who respond to emails within a few hours, bills produced every time meter readings are provided or monthly for smart meters, the ability to pay by whatever method you prefer without penalty, some very clever tariffs for people who have EVs, solar or want to engage with time of use pricing. They even do a £50 refer a friend bonus.
The only negative is that they don't do a gas only option.
Typical grandstanding politician. Let’s make all your problems someone else’s. Then don’t forget all I have done for you at the next election so I can keep my £90k job plus expenses. Makes your blood boil .
Some in-depth research into UN Agendas 21 and 2030 is recommended. Check out the WEF and their plans for our future, which are being implemented at high speed. Those that think it's all conspiracy theory and that everything is going to return to normal need to get their heads out of the sand.
All the stuff I’ve posted on here , only one got deleted
It was about the you know what … and it’s s I d e e f f e x ….
Free speech ? 😂
Drove past a house yesterday with a residential wind - generator ( that didn't look too bad, cylindrical - about 4 foot ) Guess we'll be seeing more of these.
British Gas threatened to take me to court over a huge gas bill , it wasn’t until I told them that
A. I used eon not British Gas
B. My house was empty and being renovated
C. The bill was for the house next door
They eventually recanted , I also gave the Moron at the Indian call centre a right mouthful 😂
Indian call centres easy to handle, I simply tell them that I can't understand a word they are saying and hanged up, truth is I cannot understand a word they say
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