Business comparison experts Bionic have taken a closer look at consumer's rights if they stop paying their energy bills. The consumer strike on energy bills, Don't Pay UK, has surpassed 125,000 signatures of people who pledge to strike on October 1, 2022, when the energy price cap will increase.
Bills are expected to reach an estimated £3,358 per year, and many people are unable to afford these rising rates. The strikers plan on cancelling their direct debits from October and demand a decrease in rates to an affordable level.
Money saving expert Martin Lewis has been urging the government to act, whilst Bionic have been looking at the rights of a consumer who stops paying their energy bills. Bionic have found that if you refuse to pay, your energy provider does have the right to take action if you cancel your direct debit and begin to build debt.
Read More: Hockley businesses 'counting every penny' as cost of living goes up
They could potentially move you onto a prepayment meter, which means you are more likely to be paying a higher rate, as a prepayment meter requires you to pay for your energy as you use it. However, the supplier has to give you at least 28 days to repay the debt before they can take action, and they cannot enter your home and install the meter without at least 7 days prior warning.
Before this the supplier should also offer a repayment plan or help to arrange repayments through your state benefits. You can also refuse a prepayment meter if you are physically unable to reach your meter or top up the balance at a shop.
If these conditions are all met and you still refuse to pay, the supplier does have the right to gain a warrant to enter your home and install the meter, or change your smart meter setting to pay as you go. Not paying energy bills can also have a negative impact on your credit score, making it harder to borrow money in the future.
Credit reference agencies can be notified on non-payment of utility bills, and your supplier could pass your account on to a debt recovery service, or give you a County Court Judgement. Then even if you repay the debt, a record of CCJ will remain on your file for six years and make it harder to borrow money.
Many people may be tempted to shop around for a better deal as prices skyrocket, but if you have been in debt with your current provider for more than 28 days, your switch to a new energy provider may be blocked. However, your provider cannot stop you switching it if is their fault you're in debt.
If you have a prepayment meter you are able to switch if you are in debt, as long as the amount you owe is £500 or less, as the new supplier will take on the debt and you will repay them instead. If you can't agree on a repayment plan with your supplier and refuse to have a prepayment meter installed without a valid reason, then your supplier can disconnect your supply.
Disconnection can only be considered when all other options have been exhausted, such as if you arrange a repayment plan but miss an instalment, but both gas and electricity suppliers must give you seven days notice before they do it.
Ofgem has stated that suppliers should do everything in their power to avoid disconnecting your supply especially if you are ill or disabled. They are not allowed to disconnect the supply of a person who is above the state pension age or lives alone between the colder months of October to April.
Ofgem has also ordered a review after they found 7 million households on a Standard Variable Tarigg experienced a bill increase of 60% between February and April this year. The regulator found that the firms Ecotricity, Good Energy, Green Energy UK, TruEnergy and Utilita Energy were potentially calculating bills inconsistently.
If your supplier is one of these companies you should contact them about a possible rebate. Remember the best action to take is to compare different suppliers for the best deal using a comparison service.
Read Next:
