They are aiming to get 1 million UK electricity customers to stop paying their monthly direct debit (Image: Metro.co.uk/Don’t Pay UK/Getty)
Would you consider committing to not paying your energy bill?
A campaign in the UK is calling on 1 million households to pledge to stop paying energy bills from October 1 in protest against price rises amid the cost of living crisis.
The group, run by several anonymous activists, launched its Don’t Pay UK campaign in mid-June and within a week had already amassed more than 4,000 people who had signed up to support the initiative.
A no-pay campaign is when people collectively commit to not paying a bill or fee.
The group claims it was inspired by the opposition to the poll tax and the related protests that helped bring down Margaret Thatcher’s government when 17 million people refused to pay the poll tax, known as the ‘community tax’, in 1990. Ultimately it became impossible for the Thatcher government to implement the policy successfully.
The premise
In the face of the crisis and the highest inflation in years, the ‘Don’t Pay’ campaign aims to get 1 million of the UK’s 28 million electricity customers to stop paying their monthly direct debit if “no action is taken to reduce an expected price increase in October,” in an effort to get affordable energy for all.
The Don’t Pay manifesto reads: “Millions of us will be unable to afford food and bills this winter. We cannot allow this to happen. We insist on reducing the bills to an affordable level. We will cancel our direct debits from 1st October if we are ignored.
“We are not affiliated with any organization, nor do we have a set list of requirements.
“We have come together because we think the energy bill strike is necessary not only as a means of powerful, mass collective action in the cost of living crisis, but we think it is also something that many people are already thinking up and down country.
“Whether people can’t pay because it’s just too expensive, or don’t want to pay because they don’t see how it’s fair to pay so much, this idea can mobilize millions of people.”
Many are feeling the strain (Image: Getty / Metro.co.uk)
The problem
Energy costs have risen dramatically this year. With the annual cap, the maximum amount a utility company can charge an average customer per year for the amount of electricity and gas they use rose by almost £700 to almost £2,000 in April.
A further rise in prices is expected again in October to almost £3,000.
According to the ONS, energy prices continue to be the main driver of inflation, which is expected to hit a 40-year high, reaching an expected 11 percent this autumn.
And while Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £15bn package to help provide one-off payments to needy households, Don’t Pay says it will not help those most in need.
National Energy Action (NEA) estimates that 11,400 winter deaths are already caused by the cold each year.
But by this winter, 6.3 million households will not be able to afford their energy bills, according to Don’t Pay UK, and 10 million households will be in ‘fuel stress’, meaning they are spending more than 10% of their income for energy bills alone.
The campaign
“We started this campaign because we were worried about how we were going to pay our energy bills,” a spokesperson for Don’t Pay UK told Metro.co.uk. “Energy bills are at the heart of the cost of living crisis.
“Everyone needs access to electricity and gas to warm, light and live comfortably in their homes.
“But everyone around us is struggling and we know it’s only going to get worse with no end in sight.
“That’s why we’ve come together as a group to strategize and think about ways we can collectively fight this.”
The campaign used social media to gain momentum. So far around 20,000 leaflets have been ordered from the website by people wanting to join the movement in areas of England, Scotland and Wales.
“We don’t find supporters; supporters find us,” says Don’t Pay UK. “We think this idea is so powerful that it has captured the imagination, which not only gives people hope, but is also a concrete strategy to deal with this crisis.”
“So far around 1,300 people have expressed an interest in becoming organizers in their town, village and city,” says Don’t Pay UK.
“From there, we will expand the campaign with a local presence to create ‘Don’t Pay’ groups in the UK.
“These will be places where local people can meet and organize in and against the cost of living crisis.
“Like the COVID self-help groups, people want to look after each other and provide for their needs, and this campaign brings all kinds of people together.
“When we build support and our campaign reaches a critical mass of a million pledges, we will tell the government and the energy companies what they will face unless they take drastic action. If the government ignores this move, we will go on a pay strike from October 1.
Supporters
“People were telling us they signed up [to the campaign] because their situation is getting worse,” Don’t Pay UK told Metro.co.uk.
“A man emailed us a few days ago to say his gas bill had risen by over 50% to £333 this month.
“They’re a house of five and they can’t afford to pay their bills, especially if they go up again in October.”
This from a supporter “I’m joining the strike because I can no longer afford to pay. My bill went up 50% this month and it’s only June – still no heat and they say it will jump again in October. Enough is enough’ pic.twitter.com/qZcT06Qqcp
“Don’t pay.” (@dontpayuk) June 29, 2022
Steve, 34, had never taken part in a campaign like this but signed up after “exhausting options”.
“The price of everything is going up: food, gas, gas, rent. I live in London but I work in the south-east of the city and I’m being pushed further and further out of the city,’ the construction worker told Metro.co.uk.
“I live in Streatham with three others but the rent is still £650 a month, with an extra £250 for council tax, gas, electricity and water.
“I can’t save money; I’m trapped in high interest credit cards and half my salary is going towards my housing alone.
Things have turned dark for Steve over the past few months.
“My clothes fall apart, I can’t afford a dentist, I can’t replace things that break,” he says.
“I don’t see what else I can do.
“I’ve already cut my spending to the bone, shop in the sale section and avoid going out. Unless I get a better job, I can’t do anything else – it’s out of my control.
After seeing a post on the Fuel Protest Facebook page, Steve found out about Don’t Pay UK.
“It seems like a brilliant idea. I don’t see what I have to lose,” says Steve. “There is strength in numbers and something has to change because now people are really starting to suffer.
We are already witnessing a sharp rise in energy and fuel costs (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
“Many of my colleagues at work are in a similar or even worse situation than me and said they would [support the campaign] because they also have no other choice. There is a lot of anger.
Although Steve is nervous about the risks of not paying, he is also nervous “about paying bills.”
‘They say [bills] it will go up again in October,” he says. “I fear how I will afford to live this winter.”
“Doing nothing is scarier to me than doing something. If a million other people [support the movement] then it’s worth a try.
Risks of non-payment
“There are a lot of risks associated with non-payment campaigns,” Myles Robinson, chief commercial officer at Haysto, told Metro.co.uk.
“From a legal point of view, there is not much support for activists who do not pay. If you use energy, you are expected to pay your bills.
“Any unpaid bills will put your account into debt and your energy supplier can have debt collectors enforce it. You will also be at risk of being cut off by your provider.”
While Miles acknowledges that mass defaults have worked in the past and says “a lack of payment can pressure energy suppliers to lower their prices”, he warns that energy suppliers may feel pressured to claim debts “as they struggle with similar campaigns’.
“Many UK citizens are in a difficult situation, struggling with the worsening cost of living crisis,” he said. “And it affects renters trying to get on the property ladder and homeowners.”
If you need help or support paying your utility bills, Miles suggests talking to your energy supplier to “arrange a payment plan.”
“You won’t be interrupted if there’s a discussion,” he says. “And any debt you owe to an energy supplier you may be able to pay off with benefits like the Fuel Direct Scheme.”
Bill Rise, a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) from Tennessee, warns that problems could arise if one million UK customers stop paying their energy bills.
There are big risks involved (Photo: Getty Images/Maskot)
“If all customers stop paying their bills, energy providers won’t have enough money to buy the gas and electricity needed to keep the lights on. This could lead to a blackout,” Bill told Metro.co.uk.
“If suppliers can’t get the money they’re owed, they may have to raise prices to compensate everyone else. This could lead to widespread price increases.
“If suppliers can’t get the money they’re owed, they may have to cut jobs to cut costs.” This could lead to massive job losses in the energy sector.”
Bill also warns that it could lead to a financial crisis if mass defaults lead to mass job losses and price rises, causing a drop in confidence in the economy.
But he does…
Add Comment