Refusal to pay energy bills

[Marlo]

Some calm logic in this thread. I didn't expect that.
I'm quite concerned by the number that think it's okay to just not pay or to even propose this in the first place.

There was a similar protest in Ireland about 10 years ago, the country was walloped by the banking crisis, IMF and then had the pleasure of paying extra taxes to bail out the banks. Well and truly feeling the after effects of the recession.

None of that caused mass unrest, the straw that broke the camels back.... water charges. I had never know anything like it, people who had never not paid a bill in their life just said no. Below is a badly written but accurate summary of it.

The story of 'NO' ... 15 moments that have defined the Irish Water protest movement

Not long ago, TheJournal.ie was publishing articles with headlines like ‘Why don’t the Irish protest?’.

www.thejournal.ie

It wasn't the redundancies, the increase in tax, the bank bailout, children emigrating, it was a 250 euro a year fee that broke it.

At some point people will say fuck this, it won't be partygate, lying in parliament, contracts to their mates it will be people working hard not able to afford the basics they had a year ago.

The other thing I would point out is, these energy bills may reduce, but it is almost certain they will never return to anything close to pre/2021-22 levels.

 

[gandalfthebrave]

I have had emails about terms and conditions changes for Bulb today. One email for work (commercial account/tariffs with them obviously), and one for my supply at home.

I scanned through and most of the terms updates seem to be to worded specifically to counter the idea of mass non-payment. Right down to charging you for repairs to a damaged or tampered meter.

Really quite sad how people are being hit with the worrisome, crippling bollocks of outrageous energy price hikes. I blame the absolute dross we have legislating for us in parliament. Clowns, one and all.

They’re out of their tiny minds and very soon, they’ll push regular folk too far. Those folk will have nothing left to lose, and then the fight back will begin.

 

[Blue Llama]

Good luck installing all of them if 2 million households cancel at the same time.

You make it sound as though the energy firms will give a toss about how long it takes them to provide power to non payers.

 

[East Level 2]

I think it’s more likely people will stop paying rent

People will stop paying the person they think has the least power to take action. They'll need heat, light and food so it will be rent, council tax and TV licence that they stop.
After that it's robbing Peter to pay Paul. Go three months overdue on electric but pay the gas, then pay a month of electric to shut them up and miss a month of gas. Then juggle water bills as well. Obviously not possible if the property is electric only.

 

[55yr old teenager]

I think it’s more likely people will stop paying rent

I would pay the rent. Better to sit in a cold flat with no heat than be sat on a cold street corner with nowhere to live.

 

[oldius]

You make it sound as though the energy firms will give a toss about how long it takes them to provide power to non payers.

I haven't suggested anything about not paying. I have suggested cancelling payment by direct debit, en-masse.

 

[I'm With Stupid]

There was a similar protest in Ireland about 10 years ago, the country was walloped by the banking crisis, IMF and then had the pleasure of paying extra taxes to bail out the banks. Well and truly feeling the after effects of the recession.

None of that caused mass unrest, the straw that broke the camels back.... water charges. I had never know anything like it, people who had never not paid a bill in their life just said no. Below is a badly written but accurate summary of it.

The story of 'NO' ... 15 moments that have defined the Irish Water protest movement

Not long ago, TheJournal.ie was publishing articles with headlines like ‘Why don’t the Irish protest?’.

www.thejournal.ie

It wasn't the redundancies, the increase in tax, the bank bailout, children emigrating, it was a 250 euro a year fee that broke it.

At some point people will say fuck this, it won't be partygate, lying in parliament, contracts to their mates it will be people working hard not able to afford the basics they had a year ago.

The other thing I would point out is, these energy bills may reduce, but it is almost certain they will never return to anything close to pre/2021-22 levels.

It's almost always the case. They're lucky people are just suggesting not paying. In the developing world, this is the sort of thing that leads to a coup and heads on spikes. The Arab spring wasn't kick started by people being fed up with corrupt governments, it was started by a single unemployed man setting himself on fire after his 'illegally' earned wages from street trading were confiscated. Governments can get away with a lot of shit, but failure to put food on people's tables and a roof over their head isn't one of them.

 

[Blue Maverick]

I would pay the rent. Better to sit in a cold flat with no heat than be sat on a cold street corner with nowhere to live.

It could take upto 12 months to evict you if not longer if there are loads of people doing it and magistrates out on strike to deal with it all.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

I would pay the rent. Better to sit in a cold flat with no heat than be sat on a cold street corner with nowhere to live.

It takes a long time for a landlord to evict and if tenants game the system by paying one in four months rent they can drag it out a long time.

 

[denislawsbackheel]

I haven't suggested anything about not paying. I have suggested cancelling payment by direct debit, en-masse.

And the response from the utility companies will be to cut them off.