Energy don’t pay or what else

[jetadore]

So the “don’t pay” movement seems to be gaining some traction but so does the “just shut up and pay” movement telling us to stop being so naive and how there are ‘much better ways’ to tackle the issue? What are these ‘better ways’ then? Place my faith in the leadership and benevolence of Liz or Rishi?

I remember people refusing to pay (and rioting) over the poll tax, you hear about protest movements in other countries, what about the yellow vests for fucks sake. Here we’re too scared to do anything in case it affects our precious credit scores, make excuses not to demonstrate because we allowed the government to take away our right to protest.

What am I allowed to do then? Wait for people to start going broke or dying, and then tut over the newspaper headlines? Wait for the next election so we can vote in the same bunch of bastards, or Starmer’s diet bastards? Research and publish my proposal for a coherent, long term energy policy since nobody in government can be bothered? Campaign for world peace? Come up with patronising explanations for how the crisis is due to a complex and unfortunate coincidence of geo-political factors and the prevailing economic doctrine which is actually much better than the alternative when you think about it what are you a socialist or something? How long should I wait and see if things magically get better? Is ofgem going to wait to announce the price cap? No, they’re doing it next month. Just enough time to get onto my bank.

I’m fortunate that I could probably afford the projected (can’t wait for the big reveal, so exciting) increase with a bit of belt tightening. But I’m inclined to cancel my payments all the same, if it would put the shits up them. I don’t want to be all “I’m alright jack” while others struggle, nor do I want to be intimidated by the threat of ccj’s and conservative claptrap, so that the Tories and their mates can sit there laughing at us and blathering on about how profit isn’t a crime whilst we all meekly wring our hands and wait in the cold for the invisible hand of the market to come to our aid.

Just feel like is there something I can practically do to make a difference, now, or am I actually powerless?

PS I know there was a thread on this recently there probably have been others since I didn’t find any when I searched though.

Thank goodness corbyn and his view that access to energy should be seen as a human right didn't get in /s

Yes @PasTrop lots of us understand. You sound like you're one of the wealthy in Les Miserables though, with no idea of how it feels to be facing a crisis, which you clearly aren't as you are from a wealthy demographic and have a second home in France you can disappear to when needed.

Thus for you, there is no crisis. It is you who does not understand that!

For those of us facing a crisis, however, we are discussing the veracity of various forms of protest as we worry about elderly neighbours freezing to death this winter...we can not afford to just sit by and do nothing. What to do though, is hard to know.

Price cap raised to 3,500 today. God knows what it’ll be in January.

Energy price raising 80% on October 1st

It'll be 5000 by January ( is my prediction)

Protests will achieve nothing and essentially people in the uk are to apathetic to protest. Please don't say "the poll tax" and it was just replaced by another tax (council tax).

Price cap that is.

Average Bills going from from £1971 to £3549 per year

People are waking up, yes.

Please explain this lightand MI can Google this year, but I want your take on it.

Problem is, the whole thing is not just a UK thing.
It is far more global than that.

Majority of western world countries. Plus some others.
All in the same predicament, to a lesser or greater degree. Partly depending on what their governements are doing about the similar situations.

£40,000? £60,000?

There may be no end... Do you see?

@PasTrop is either trolling or a sociopath.

I’m yet to see any better suggestions than the “don’t pay” idea so might as well cancel my direct debit and see what happens. Don’t agree at all that my only responsibility is to provide for myself/my family and fuck everyone else. I mean does only my immediate household count, some of my extended family are going to be badly hit by this. It’s not zero sum I can look after myself and take action that helps others.

Sorry to read about the posters already struggling. Sad but not surprised by the number of I’m alright Jacks, general cowardice and apathy on display. Oh well, let just shrug and do nothing then, or we could get in trouble. We’re lucky to not live under an oppressive government but we don’t half oppress ourselves with our spinelessness. Or come on arguing the side of the energy companies, what are you expecting, a pat on the head?

My situation is a little less flexible. I am a Carer for two disabled young people. So, I receive £68 per week & cannot 'look for a promotion' at work / find a 2nd evening job. live in Scotland. Its at least 5° colder up here, year round, & winter can get very cold. My house is old with no roof insulation at all. I have no family within 350 miles. I'm also physically disabled myself. We were cold & therefore somewhat miserable last winter so I'm actually scared of how this one will be.

Not with that attitude they won’t. People didn’t protest the poll tax because they didn’t want to pay any tax, they wanted a fairer tax. People aren’t expecting not to pay for energy at all they’re against unfair prices.

*Why would the government possibly try to seize foreign companies just because you are annoyed at your energy bill?

More to the point, have you any idea how ridiculous that plan is? What exactly do you imagine would happen if we tried to “seize”
the assets of US and EU companies drilling hundreds or thousands of miles from the UK?*

Well exactly. A private company won't give them back and why should they? Many people protested against O&G companies drilling into the North Sea and as such, it's been much harder to get licenses to do so.

Why are you acting someone of trolling OP just because they don't agree with you

So.... not paying at all will have personal consequences for whoever goes that route.
What I think the "no payment" move is targetting at the moment is refusing the fix contract with ridiculous DD charges or even a DD with your company at all. Just paying for your actual usage and not paying the provider double or triple in advance.
I am on a variable DD payment at the moment. I cannot afford to give them close to 3 times my actual usage per month and that is what they came up with when my contract ran out.
I am cutting back in usage and so it seems for many many other users. So, eventually, the suppliers will see a big dip in usage and in their income. I think they will be up for a shock this winter!
But getting yourself in further debt, with everything creeping up and up, at this point, does not look like a solution to me.
There is already people in this conundrum, who cannot afford paying. But we all know the reality of a business, the profit of our payments does cover for those who cannot pay, so at least they do not get disconnected. We may get there by this winter. I am certainly worried.
I am not scared or weak of speaking about this or protesting, but I am try to carry my share of the load while I can. And give the goverment a chance to act, which I think they will not do sadly, at least not efficiently enough.
I have read that suppliers are offering some solutions too. They may not be the best deal in the world, but at least they are open to negotiations. So let's hope UK has someone to lead those negotiations soon.
When it comes to protesting I would do something like this. Choose a big building like school, library, shopping centre, with space, facilities, security and heating. Camp in there in masses (leaving homes empty after work/ school, no electric or gas usage) for a forthnight, a month, whatever needed till the supliers notice the fall in demand. You still get the effect of them feeling the strain now and nobody getting into debt. We will have to contribute to the bills of the chosen building, of course.
I also think that even if we are keeping still and keep going calmly, the goverment knows very well that we are not content, and a hungry cold "sheep" is as dangerous as a wolf.
Also, collecting signatures to force parlament to discuss solutions, deals and so is in our power.

The NHS are predicting something similar to a humanitarian crisis in the UK this winter because of all the predicted illnesses and deaths from the food and gas price hikes.

For those of you saying "just suck it up and pay it", I don't think you are quite getting the severity of the situation.

What about the people who are already in FULL TIME work and having to use food banks to survive? They simply will not survive this winter. Millions of businesses will shut down this year as a result of the price hikes, which will affect the overall economy. Do you not see that it is a vicious circle?

And for people blaming the Ukraine situation, the price cap increases were already going up before it all kicked off.

For the record, I think the country needs to start living more sustainably and to be taught how to save money. The problem is, that is a serious privilege and the Tories simply do not care about it enough to help people with the situation (evidently).

Finally - it's 2022, why do so many of you seem to want to go back to a Dickensian dystopia?! Weird! Anyway, OP I'm in.

So you’re saying as a collective we can’t/shouldn’t do anything in the face of a global problem? Climate change then? The credit crash was a global problem we managed to find a way to “save” the banks.

@jetadore go on then, you think this is huge interest in mass protests then start organising one. It was proportionally a small percentage who didn't pay their poll tax and a even smaller number who went to the protest/riot in London. For all the supposed "hatred" of the Tories then who won the 92 election?

TLDR; I don't pay my bills because I am afraid of my "precious credit score". I pay because I am vulnerable and don't want to do anything that may make my life harder.

Not saying that in the slightest.

"protest" in the UK means lets have a moan on social media and MN

This thread brings to mind the people on the spaceship in Wall-e. I’m obviously in a minority, maybe some of the Jacks on here are enjoying the prospect of people’s winter struggles in the same way people slow down to look at car crashes?

Anyway, I’m off to chuck a brick at a Centrica van.

Wait for me!