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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think this rebate announced today is a total con

258 replies

Viviennemary · 03/02/2022 18:19

So this so called rebate has to be paid back. It isnt exactly a rebate then is it?

OP posts:
mytwocats · 04/02/2022 06:30

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!

SickAndTiredAgain · 04/02/2022 06:39

@mytwocats

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!
What other country is doing what? An loan that plenty of people don’t want? People aren’t obliged to be grateful for everything the government does. In what other scenario would I be advised to take a loan (even interest free) for something I could pay now? Why would I do that if I didn’t want to, or need to? What should I be grateful for?
Overthebow · 04/02/2022 06:43

@mytwocats

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!
Why would I be grateful for a loan I don’t want? It’s great they are putting something in place for those who need it but I’m not getting into debt when I don’t need to.
userxx · 04/02/2022 06:46

I'll take the £200 in October and have some credit for the winter months, I'm happy to pay back £40 per year for 5 years. £3.33 per month won't break the bank.

mytwocats · 04/02/2022 06:48

Like I said moan if they do something moan if they don’t. it’s a softener for a lot of people.

Roselilly36 · 04/02/2022 06:48

Total madness, just shows how much of Government is out of touch with the people.

mellongoose · 04/02/2022 06:51

No Government is able to halt the global rise in the cost of living, neither can they stop households from feeling it totally. This is just to take the sting out of it in the most targeted way possible.

People have become used to furlough type schemes and now expect Governments to shield them from any real life financial shocks.

userxx · 04/02/2022 06:51

@mytwocats

Like I said moan if they do something moan if they don’t. it’s a softener for a lot of people.

Totally agree. There will be a lot of thankful people in the run up to winter.

Energy prices are going to be staying high for a long time. Let's see how many people change their tune once we feel the effects of the cap increase.

Simonjt · 04/02/2022 06:53

@mytwocats

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!
A loan isn’t help, it’a debt.

France capped increases at 4%.

bindud · 04/02/2022 07:10

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!

And this is a prime example of how our education system is failing!

bindud · 04/02/2022 07:11

People have become used to furlough type schemes and now expect Governments to shield them from any real life financial shocks.

What other schemes are there like furlough?

applesandoranges221 · 04/02/2022 07:18

I really don't know which part of this I'm more cross about - the fact that after a lifetime of working hard and avoiding debt like the plague other than student loans and mortgage I'm going to be forced into a debt I don't want for a discount I don't need, or the insinuation that because I happen to live in a Band A property I can't pay my bills!

Where's my option to donate my council tax discount to someone who's struggling and needs it????

Fuck's sake.

ForcingSmiles · 04/02/2022 07:23

@mytwocats

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!
If you want to compare to other countries the French imposed a 4% cap and are forcing EDF to take the hit instead...that would've been an option.

And it's not "help" if it's forced. We're fixed until August 2023. I don't want nor need a £200 loan. I'd rather just pay the bill as and when it comes in

In all honesty i'd prefer the Government give everyone the chance to opt out. Then they use the money and distribute it among the people who actually need it the most.

Theworldisfullofgs · 04/02/2022 07:23

*mytwocats

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!*

French energy prices are going up 4%, rather than the 54% that is happening here. That's because they made EDF take it out their profits.

This is no different to bailing out the banks and making private debt public debt. Literally in this case.
Maybe develop some critical thinking skills.

notimagain · 04/02/2022 07:26

@mytwocats

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!
www.reuters.com/business/energy/europes-efforts-shield-households-soaring-energy-costs-2022-02-03/
truthfullylying · 04/02/2022 07:27

No Government is able to halt the global rise in the cost of living, neither can they stop households from feeling it totally. This is just to take the sting out of it in the most targeted way possible.

People have become used to furlough type schemes and now expect Governments to shield them from any real life financial shocks.

Well this little post contains a lot of misunderstandings about how an economy works!

Furlough was not about 'people' as individuals, it was necessary to prevent the nation's economy from imploding.

The bigger issue in the UK is we have high inflation with low growth - that is a UK problem not a universal. So clearly some governments have done something to protect their economies (again, not individuals) against the cost of living issues the UK is going to face.

The scheme the government have introduced is not going to take the sting out of it for those most affected and is very poorly targeted - why are the government giving me £200 instead of giving someone in fuel poverty a meaningful amount? If you can not afford the fuel rise at all, how does giving a £200 reduction help those families? They will still have to choose between heating and eating.

No-one expects the government to shield everyone, but it is pretty normal for governments to try to protect their citizens from global events that will cause them to die in greater numbers - a food and heating coost crisis is no small matter for many millions.

And overall - if we can not afford to pay for even essentials, our economy will shrink further. It absolutely is the government's job to try to address that.

Belleager · 04/02/2022 07:27

@mytwocats

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!
Ireland, actually - announced a while ago.

Except it's an actual rebate of 125 euro, so people won't have to pay it back.

lollipoprainbow · 04/02/2022 07:28

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!*

Why don't the scrap the National insurance rise if they really want to help??

mytwocats · 04/02/2022 07:36

National insurance scrap so when u go to hospital you pay , bet you’d soon be moaning about that one

HelloCanYouHearMe · 04/02/2022 07:38

What I don't understand is why the cap has doubled when Shell have just posted a £12bn profit gained over 3 months.

Surely if that amount of money is being made, the cap could have stayed at what is was?

Noisyprat · 04/02/2022 08:05

This is going to take quite a lot of admin by energy companies, I can only assume they are just sucking this up. I have a feeling that this will end up costing more as people won’t be able to afford to pay it back. How will it be enforced if you haven’t signed up to it in the first place?

I also don’t want his loan and will be emailing Octopus to tell them that. Frankly I would rather the help was much more targeted.

Hoppinggreen · 04/02/2022 08:21

@mytwocats

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!
Why should I be grateful for something I didn’t ask for, don’t want and don’t need.
userxx · 04/02/2022 08:21

@Noisyprat

This is going to take quite a lot of admin by energy companies, I can only assume they are just sucking this up. I have a feeling that this will end up costing more as people won’t be able to afford to pay it back. How will it be enforced if you haven’t signed up to it in the first place?

I also don’t want his loan and will be emailing Octopus to tell them that. Frankly I would rather the help was much more targeted.

I'm pretty sure people will be able to afford £3.33 per month to repay the loan.

Alexandra2001 · 04/02/2022 08:26

@mytwocats

Honestly! The government offers some sort of help & all you do is moan, they didn’t have to do anything. Think yourselves lucky, what other country is doing this? just b grateful for once!
Well France has limited Gas to 12% and frozen till April and lecky will increase by just 4%. Prices in Spain have fallen - we have a screwed up energy market that ties renewables to whole sale prices, so even though almost 50% of electricity is generated by these means, it still has to increase regardless.

So your right no other country is being as stupid as Sunak & Boris.

Alexandra2001 · 04/02/2022 08:29

@mytwocats

National insurance scrap so when u go to hospital you pay , bet you’d soon be moaning about that one
Could raise more by taxing investment income and tightening down on higher rate tax reliefs. Plus if the tories had funding the NHS at the historic average of 4% p.a instead of 1% we wouldn't need such tax rises.

Political choices.