Enough is enough: this winter I will be refusing to pay my energy bills – Tens of thousands of Britons have made a pledge to the Don’t Pay campaign. It’s a last resort, but we’ve no other choice

44 comments

  3. Looking forward to the government bailing out energy wholesalers to prevent them from collapsing and then people complaining at tax rises/declining services.

  4. 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.

  5. I’m going to be cancelling my Direct Debit, but I’ll be paying on invoice instead of a full no pay

  6. 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?

  10. I appreciate the background to this, but I don’t think it’s going to have the intended effect. I do think it’s going to mean a lot of people get referred to debt collection agencies for legitimate (yet understandable) debts.

  11. Pink Floyd was right.

    Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way.

    Hopefully someone else will do something rather than me more like.

  14. we need a general strike that is co-ordinated by trade unionists. these niche, fringe unaccountable tantrums achieve nothing and are counterproductive.

  15. 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.

  16. 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.

  17. 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).

  18. 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.

  20. 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.

  21. Sponsored by Direct Collection Bailiffs Limited, the UK’s largest debt collection agency.

  22. 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.

  28. If you are not going to partake in this what will you do?

    Think it’s extortionate and simply pay?

    Or not accept it.

  29. 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.

  30. 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

  32. When do we hit the streets? How about 24 September london. Weekend before dontpayuk pledge. How much more are you willing to take?

  33. 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.

  35. 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.

  37. 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

  38. 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.

  39. 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.

  40. 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.

  43. 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.

  44. 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.

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