Page 7 | Martin Lewis issues a stark warning

GreenLunchBox · 2022-07-19T20:51:37+00:00

And I'm really quite scared what's going to happen 😭 https://twitter.com/MartinSLewis/status/1549305060320067585?t=2QJm_R-HS3gXtUUCoy_8tA&s=19

stillherenow · 20/07/2022 07:41

Also the people I'm talking about here are working more than full time - often multiple jobs .

cakeorwine · 20/07/2022 07:42

I wonder how the new price cap will change with standing charges and the actual cost per KWH.

You can control the usage so you can reduce your bill that way.
But you have no control over the cost of the standing charge.

It is an urgent question for the Prime Minister of the day.

If mortgage interest rates were doubling or more, people would be worried and the Government would be taking note of the economic effects.

This has a similar effect. People spending £100s more every month than they used to. People who maybe can't afford to spend £100s more every month.

HelloThereObiWan · 20/07/2022 07:54

He was right to tell people not to fix at the time because the fixed deals were around 30% higher than the price cap. People are looking at the October price rise and thinking "well I'm glad I fixed when he said not to" but all this time you have been paying way over the price cap so it has probably not saved you any money over the entire year. I think that is why he was advocating not fixing at the time.

Later he changed his advice and suggested fixing if you could find a deal that was no more than around 20-25% of the current price cap. Again, this was so you were not over paying now and then potentially matching the price cap later.

Of course the October hike is way above what was expected so it's thrown a spanner in the works but it goes to show that it's not an easy calculation to make.

justasking111 · 20/07/2022 08:07

Inflation now 9.6% 🙈

NamelessNancy · 20/07/2022 08:36

BetterFuture1985 · 20/07/2022 01:42

I think if we step back from the energy crisis specifically and look at the economy as a whole, the last 12 years have been a disaster. The economy has been successively managed by people who did not know what they were doing with only a partial and limited respite when Philip Hammond was Chancellor (although he was largely constrained by Brexit). The result of bad policy means that the UK cannot withstand economic shocks like an energy crisis. The key issues over the past 12 years boils down to five key problems:

Austerity. There was never any logic in cutting essential spending on public services. All that did was remove investment at a time when inflation was much lower and when we could have "fixed the roof when the sun was shining." Now there is no roof, Osborne sold it. What we're now faced with is inadequate infrastructure that is one of the causes of low productivity and a need to invest at a time when inflation makes that difficult or even impossible.

It also made consumers poorer and less able to withstand economic downturns. What a lot of people never realised is that the UK economy cannot go bankrupt because it has a fiat currency. It can print money to pay debt but the reason it does not do so is to avoid inflation. But remember, printing money is basically quantitative easing and a good question for your local Tory MP is why the money printed under QE was put in private rather than public hands.

Brexit. Like it or not, Brexit creates additional trade barriers both in the form of tariffs and lack of regulatory recognition. This has made it harder to export and therefore harder for UK plc to make money. It has contributed to the weak pound sterling.
Tax rises on working people. VAT went up 2.5%, NI has been increased 2.25% in the last decade and we now have fiscal drag on the tax bands. Cutting taxes now would be inflationary but the government should change where they fall. With rampant house price inflation and labour shortages, we really need people to be incentivised to go back to work whilst the very wealthy ought to be paying more tax either on incomes or housing wealth.
Energy crisis. No doubt this is the primary cause of inflation, which is why suppression of wages doesn't really make that much sense. Yes, if we do too much there will be an inflationary spiral. However, if the government can issue cost of living packages for millionaire pensioners (2 million of them) why can't it do the same for people on middle incomes?
Weak pound sterling. Inflation is far worse in the UK because of low exports caused by Brexit. This means things we import like most of our energy become more expensive. Oil was much more expensive per barrel in 2008 than it is now for example, but because of the exchange rate to the US$ it is sold in we're paying £2 at the pump now compared to around £1.30 then.

Austerity and Brexit together have ruined the British economy in a way that is going to be very hard to come back from. Investment is too inflationary and the Tories are too proud to alter Brexit.

Spot on. The likelihood of the Tory party now choosing a multi-millionaire (billionaire?) leader to impose further cuts and austerity on us is boggling my mind too. (Not that the others would be any better).

Zeus44 · 20/07/2022 08:39

StrychnineInTheSandwiches · 19/07/2022 22:10

He's right. Anyone who can't see a financial crisis coming is in cloud cuckoo land.

Agreed. People out buying crap all the time they don’t need or having it delivered are going to feel the pain. Now is the time to have a rainy day fund building up. No matter how much it is, something is better than nothing.

Brogues · 20/07/2022 08:47

3luckystars · 20/07/2022 07:32

Do you have to reapply for a mortgage to change/re-fix the rate?

If you are not changing the term of the mortgage or the amount you are borrowing it shouldn’t need a new application.

liveforsummer · 20/07/2022 09:17

HinchcliffeandMurgatroyd · 19/07/2022 23:58

Also @liveforsummer (and anybody else worried), there are agreements in place about disconnection;

Most suppliers have signed up to an agreement called the 'Energy UK Vulnerability Commitment'. You can check if your supplier has signed up to the commitment by contacting them or checking their website.

If your supplier has signed up to the commitment, they won't disconnect you between 1 October and 31 March if you live with children under 16.

They also won’t disconnect you at any time of year if you:

are disabled

have long-term health problems

have severe financial problems

have children under 6 years old living at home

If your supplier hasn't signed up to the commitment, they should take your situation into account, but they’re not obliged to.

If you’ve been threatened with being disconnected but think you shouldn’t be, contact your supplier and let them know. They should visit your home to check on your situation before they do anything. You can make a complaint if they decide to go ahead and disconnect you.

So if it gets hairy, make sure you tell your supplier about vulnerable family members.

Also there is something called a “priority service register” for some vulnerable groups, so check if you think you’re eligible and register for that as soon as you can.

Seriously, though, Rishi can say what he likes now, but the government are going to have to help.

Thanks for that. I do have dc but all over 6 and no one is vulnerable. I wonder if putting you over to pay meter will become more common if you're late paying.

FayeGovan · 20/07/2022 09:25

I wish martin lewis would run for pm. Hes absolutely fantastic.

FayeGovan · 20/07/2022 09:29

I wanted to fix my energy bills but edf were only offering me a 2 year fix and all others were offerinf a ine year fix. Fixing at such a high cost for 2 years was just untenable, id have done it for a year but 2 years just seemed extreme. Im just sticking to the svr for now.

MibsXX · 20/07/2022 09:31

cakeorwine · 20/07/2022 07:42

I wonder how the new price cap will change with standing charges and the actual cost per KWH.

You can control the usage so you can reduce your bill that way.
But you have no control over the cost of the standing charge.

It is an urgent question for the Prime Minister of the day.

If mortgage interest rates were doubling or more, people would be worried and the Government would be taking note of the economic effects.

This has a similar effect. People spending £100s more every month than they used to. People who maybe can't afford to spend £100s more every month.

But if you were already being a good green person and using the bare minimum required to operate one fridge, one shower a week, etc etc how on earth can we control our usage other than using none at all?

Backtothenineties · 20/07/2022 09:34

There's a reason the govt doesn't like Martin and that should tell you all you need to know to listen to him and understand he is looking out for the publics interest and not the rich billionaires funding the corrupt Tory govt.
I've also seen Martin in tears over trying to help people on limited income who were desperate and you can see over the past couple of years the stress has shown on him and taken its toll

BetterFuture1985 · 20/07/2022 09:46

SandysMam · 20/07/2022 07:38

There is definitely a sense on mumsnet of I’m alright Jack and it won’t affect me. But it will. Crime will go up substantially, people will slip into addiction due to mental health problems, street homelessness will increase. So your “naice” (and I apologise because I hate that word) area, suddenly won’t be so naice anymore.

Indeed, I don't think people have realised how deep this is going to cut. Anyone who just looks at their energy or grocery bill and just thinks "well, I can afford that" might get one hell of a shock if they take a look how their pension is doing or just how high interest rates might have to go to counter the weak pound sterling that is making inflation worse here than anywhere else in Europe.

My pension has already lost over 25% of its value in 3 months. And I'll be surprised if interest rates aren't 2.5% by the end of next year and looking to rise still further. There are going to be people in the £70-80k bracket who are going to really feel the pinch.

Rosehugger · 20/07/2022 09:51

Prices should be fixed now and not go up further in October. If it goes up a lot more people just won't pay for it anyway as they can't afford it. If it goes up as much as Martin Lewis says we should all collectively refuse to pay the increased amount. It's just rich oligarchs taking the piss.

I really hope the temperatures remain mild up into the autumn so people don't have to have the heating on.

Rosehugger · 20/07/2022 09:53

My pension is doing really well. Surely it's performance over long term you look at, not the last three months?

Rosehugger · 20/07/2022 09:56

Also I don't think people can really prepare for it. Those who can save are already and those who can't will obviously be more affected.

Tellhimno · 20/07/2022 10:00

HinchcliffeandMurgatroyd · 19/07/2022 23:11

But if at least three of us on this (so far short) thread could work out that was dicey advice and choose to fix, (and I’m assuming none of us are financial journalists or consumer experts), does that not suggest it was not great advice?

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The advice to not playing the lottery every week because it is a waste of money is sound - but if you win the jackpot, you are very bloody lucky...but playing the lottery doesn't suddenly become a good idea - it's still a waste of money.

FrownedUpon · 20/07/2022 10:01

He’s given out terrible advice about fixing tariffs, so I don’t pay much attention to him. I agree he causes huge panic & stress for some vulnerable people.

BarbaraofSeville · 20/07/2022 10:06

Rosehugger · 20/07/2022 09:56

Also I don't think people can really prepare for it. Those who can save are already and those who can't will obviously be more affected.

But there's a huge middle ground between the people who can't save anything and those who already have a good amount of savings.

Any discretionary spending decision made should be against a background of 'is it worth spending this money or would it be better saving it'. If you don't have a decent amount of savings and/or haven't thought about the impact of higher energy prices etc on your budget over winter, should you be really ordering another takeaway, buying new tech, having nights out, buying new clothes 'just because', getting your nails or eyebrows done, etc etc?

You only have to look at some of the people complaining that they 'can't afford electricity' to see that they haven't exactly been prioritising the essentials and saving towards a rainy day and could have saved some of the money that's been spent.

ihavenocats · 20/07/2022 10:13

GreenLunchBox · 19/07/2022 22:07

Do you think? Another 65% in October is shocking. My energy bill will be £500 a month! Who's going to want to buy my house if I need to sell?!

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Blackrock. Vanguard.

Global financial crash, inevitable in a debt-based economy (because debt will exceed cash leaving no possible way to settle the debt). Get homes back into hands of big corporations through financial squeezing and ultimate repossession to rent stock back to us?

FayeGovan · 20/07/2022 10:17

FrownedUpon · 20/07/2022 10:01

He’s given out terrible advice about fixing tariffs, so I don’t pay much attention to him. I agree he causes huge panic & stress for some vulnerable people.

He could only give out advice based on the facts AT THAT TIME.

He never said he has a crystal ball.

FayeGovan · 20/07/2022 10:29

BetterFuture1985 · 20/07/2022 09:46

Indeed, I don't think people have realised how deep this is going to cut. Anyone who just looks at their energy or grocery bill and just thinks "well, I can afford that" might get one hell of a shock if they take a look how their pension is doing or just how high interest rates might have to go to counter the weak pound sterling that is making inflation worse here than anywhere else in Europe.

My pension has already lost over 25% of its value in 3 months. And I'll be surprised if interest rates aren't 2.5% by the end of next year and looking to rise still further. There are going to be people in the £70-80k bracket who are going to really feel the pinch.

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I nodded along with all of your posts here until the last bit. People on 70k or 80k a year feeling the pinch can fuck off. Sorry but they just can. Its people who have felt the pinch for a lot longer than this who are the worry.
Posters here are saying, why are people still buying stuff, still going on holiday?? I can't be bothered with the fake surprise. People still have plenty money to spare and they won't be touched by everything going on. Sure, they'll complain about lurpak being £6 a tub or how much petrol is but they'll pay it and it won't dent their bank balance too much. And most of them will still vote tory.

Its fucking depressing.

ihavenocats · 20/07/2022 10:41

DaniRabbity · 19/07/2022 22:19

People are going to die as a result of this. People are already dying. Do you know how many people have died as a result of Tory austerity? How many disabled people have died as a result of how abusive and dishonest the disability benefits system are?

Of course it won't affect all the 'naice' middle class mums, so it's much easier to throw insults around.

I do wonder what agenda posters have that the second anyone posts anything anti-right wing, the abuse and name-calling starts. Hmmm.

Yes people will die. that's clearly the idea, they aren't stupid. They're not going 'do you think people will die if they can't afford heat? nah, they'll grow fur' They know people are going to die, mostly elderly, which is convenient since they've spent the pension pot.

deedledeedledum · 20/07/2022 10:50

On the back of his work he is now worth about £120million. He is VERY wealthy. His hyped up 'insights' that get people following him is all a very clever performance.

NamelessNancy · 20/07/2022 11:03

deedledeedledum · 20/07/2022 10:50

On the back of his work he is now worth about £120million. He is VERY wealthy. His hyped up 'insights' that get people following him is all a very clever performance.

Well he'd be a pretty useless money saving expert if he was broke wouldn't he?!