What Happens If Brits Refuse To Pay Sky High Energy Bills
With energy prices soaring - and set to rise again later this year - you may have spotted a campaign called Don’t Pay, which is urging a million Brits to sign up and vow to refuse to pay their energy bills from 1 October if prices aren’t lowered before then.
According to Don't Pay 75,000 people have pledged to join in the non-payment strike.
A spokesperson for Don’t Pay, told the Independent: "Our politicians and the oil and gas corporations have designed an energy system that only channels money and profits upwards, no matter the human cost.
"Many of us are already struggling to pay our bills while we see energy companies recording record profits. That can't be right, and we won't accept it.
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🚨 !! 75,000 PEOPLE HAVE PLEDGED TO STRIKE !! 🚨
— Don't Pay. (@dontpayuk) August 4, 2022
💪 If 1 MILLION people pledge to strike then we will withhold payment from the energy companies!
🔥 We are building a people powered movement to end the #CostOfGreedCrisis
SPREAD THE WORD + SIGN UP:https://t.co/2ZdAhj3aXm
📈❌ pic.twitter.com/BpMoCG8v7r
"If the government and energy companies refuse to act then ordinary working people will. Together we will collectively enforce a fair price and the government and oil and gas giants will have to sort it out amongst themselves."
On Twitter, one person who has joined the campaign wrote: “We need to stop paying our bills. Simple as. I am signing up to @dontpayuk I can pay but I won’t. Hope this will help those who can’t pay.”
Another wrote: “I’ve signed up. The fuel crisis is out of control and the large companies are making millions.”
However, the government is warning those that refuse to pay could be hit with negative consequences, such as impacting your credit score or putting you into debt.
A spokesperson for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy told The Telegraph: “Refusing to pay could put households into debt and affect personal credit ratings.”
The spokesperson went on to say that a non-payment strike could even make energy costs go even higher.
“High wholesale gas prices have led to 29 energy suppliers exiting the market since last summer,” they explained.
“Encouraging people to refuse to pay bills could lead to more failures – exacerbating costs for households in the longer term.”
In addition, a government spokesperson told the Independent the campaign was ‘highly irresponsible’.
They said: government spokesperson said: "This is highly irresponsible messaging, which ultimately will only push up prices for everyone else and affect personal credit ratings.
"While no government can control global gas prices, we are providing £37bn of help for households including the £400 discount on energy bills, and £1,200 of direct support for the most vulnerable households to help with the cost of living."
Claire Reid