A petition asking for energy customers to be given the right to refuse the £200 ‘loan’ which will be credited to all electricity accounts in October is just a few hundred signatures away from triggering an official response from the UK Government.
The response threshold is 10,000 signatures and the, 'Allow consumers the right to refuse the £200 energy rebate' petition, created last month by Sharron Espin, has now received more than 9,787 signatures of support.
The petition reads: “Stop forcing people to accept a loan for energy without the right of refusal. This will put more strain on many financially and mentally."
It continues: “Make it fair for people and research a better payment plan that doesn't discriminate against children leaving home and relationship breakdown.
“They [energy firms] will make a lot of money by charging £40 per annum to every consumer even if that consumer didn't have this £200 loan, eg- child at home goes to uni and now owes £200 they didn't borrow as they were not the billed consumer at the time the loan was issued, ditto to relationship breakdown, both parties will be paying the whole amount even though they live apart ergo £200 borrowed £400 repaid.”
Many people voiced concern over the £200 ‘loan’ on social media following the announcement in February and reached out to consumer champion, Martin Lewis, for advice on how to reject the money.
The founder of MoneySavingExpert.com shared a video explaining how the £200 loan is “not optional” and “is going to happen automatically on every single bill”.
And a few days later, the financial guru called on the Chancellor Rishi Sunak to "urgently rethink his energy bills £200 discount and clawback scheme”.
Research commissioned by MoneySavingExpert showed that a majority of adults in the UK would opt out if they have the choice.
He said: "I would ask the Chancellor to urgently rethink his energy bills £200 discount and clawback scheme.
“Bills are already sky-high, and on 1 April we now know most will rise by a previously unthinkable, and for many unaffordable, 54%. And sadly, when that ends in October, it currently looks possible the price cap will rise by another 20%. That will leave most people paying double what they were a year ago.”
The petition is due to close in August.
What is the £200 energy bill credit?
In February, Ofgem announced a 54 per cent rise in energy bills will come into effect from April 1.
This will result in an annual increase of £693 to £1,971 for the typical, average user while homes on pre-payment meters will see costs go up by £708 to £2,017 per year.
In an effort to help energy customers combat the hike in gas and electricity costs, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a series of financial support measures along with £290 million of funding for the Scottish Government.
The measures include a £200 bill credit 'loan' for all domestic electricity customers - some 28 million - including those using a pre-payment meter in Scotland, England and Wales, which will automatically be added to their bills in October.
They will then repay £40 per year from April 2023 for the next five years.
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