Campaign to Help Plug Energy Bill Debt
By Cynthia Taylor
Consumer Focus and the Citizens Advice Bureau together with Ofgem and Age UK have launched the ‘Plug the Debt Campaign to help people who fall behind on their energy bills,”.
There if fear that further price hikes will have the effect of pushing more people into greater debt this winter.
Increased energy prices of approximately 7% last winter and recent price increases plus other rising costs has seen an increase in the number of energy debt by over ¼ for electricity and 1/5th for gas during spring 2011 said the campaigners.
Recent figure shows that 850,000 electricity and more than 700,000 gas customers are already in debt to their energy suppliers in Britain.
Current price increases of over 14% in autumn 2011 will effectively push more consumers over the debt edge.
Citizens Advice said that last year 100,000 came to them for help, October there were 12,500 people who sought help on how to cut their energy bills.
Recent research has shown that more than half of UK consumers were worried about their ability to afford to heat their homes this winter, and one in six people plan to heat only ½ of the rooms in their homes.
Among people polled 1/3rd (29%) don’t trust their energy supplier to help them should they go into debt. Less than ½ (49%) were aware that energy companies are required to take their circumstances and their ability to pay their bill into consideration when repayment arrangements are made with regard to outstanding bills.
One out of five (19%) believe that the supplier they use could name any price and they would have to pay it.
Consumer Focus chief executive, Mike O’Connor, has said that ‘a toxic cocktail’, consisting of higher energy bills, increased priced for other essentials, and incomes that are falling could push a greater number of people into debt with energy companies over winter.
He continued that Consumer Focus wanted people to know that there is help available – he continued that suppliers have to help if people are unable to afford their bills and that there are also discounts and grants that are available to help lower energy costs.
He urges people to contact their energy company as soon as they find they have problems, before their debt becomes a big problem.
Charles Hendry, Energy Minister says that he whole heartedly supports the “plug the Debt Campaign”.
