‘Millions struggle’ to pay utility bills
Millions of people in Britain are struggling to meet essential household costs such as heating and water bills, a new report from the National Consumer Council has claimed.
More than three million people are struggling with energy payments, 4.7million are in debt to their water company, and more than one million have had their phone cut off, according to the researchers.
23,000 people were reportedly cut off by their energy supplier last year, and an estimated 1.4 million people effectively cut themselves off for fear of running up bills they couldn’t pay or because they couldn’t afford top-up cards for their pre-pay meters.
NCC chair Deirdre Hutton commented: “The current system fails the poorest because of inappropriate regulation of the privatised utility companies; an incoherent, inequitable and largely ineffective patchwork of ad hoc initiatives; and an income support system that is out of step with reality.”
Ms. Hutton also claimed that private sector competition could not be relied upon to provide low-cost utilities, and that access to ‘lifeline’ services should be recognised as a fundamental right.
The NCC suggests that people on lower incomes often have the least energy efficient homes, and choose payment options that result in higher unit costs because of short-term budgeting problems.
The organisation has also pointed out that people on benefits often have higher bills because if they are sick, disabled or even unemployed they will spend longer at home.
As well as causing a huge amount of stress and physical discomfort for people, the ultimate result of this problem is that the UK has one of the highest incidences of cold-related winter deaths in Europe, with an extra 20,000 to 50,000 people dying because their homes aren’t warm enough, today’s report claims.
The NCC would like companies to be compelled to offer a choice of low-cost social tariffs and to follow best practice in debt management.
Government can also help by introducing a scheme to automatically deduct a third of the cost from the utility bills of those on benefits.
And the NCC has called on the utility regulators to put greater pressure on companies, and to guarantee affordable access for all.
The head of social affairs for energy regulator Ofgem has claimed, however, that her organisation already does much to prevent debt problems.
Virginia Graham commented: “Ofgem has been working very hard with suppliers to encourage them to have strategies for preventing and managing debt for those who are unable to pay.”
She also noted that prices in general had come down by a third in the last four years, and that Ofgem aims to ensure that all customers have access to the most suitable tariff for their needs.
“And most importantly we’re working to ensure that those who do have debts with their suppliers can switch to another supplier where they may well be able to get a cheaper deal,” Ms. Graham added.
