Debt Training Session for Don't Pay Organisers 3/08/22 by Don't Pay UK published on 2022-08-10T12:42:20Z The information in this podcast applies to England and Wales. Please seek out other advice if you are based outside of these regions. This is one debt advisor’s opinion from her experience, and as of 3 August 2022. If you believe there are corrections to be made, please email dontpaymcr@gmail.com. NOTES Are there any exceptions to non-payment being a civil not a criminal matter? The only exception to this is around squatters. If a squatter moves in to a premises, uses gas or electric and then moves on without intention to pay the bill, "an offence is committed" (p.156 of the CPAG Fuel Rights Handbook). This will be a very rare scenario. Prohibitions on installing a pre-pay meter (p.114 of the CPAG Fuel Rights handbook (2022) 20th ed): • If it would be severely traumatic to you due to an existing vulnerability relating to mental capacity and/or psychological state and you will be made significantly worse by the experience • You are in financial difficulty and the supplier has not offered or discussed a range of payment options • It is not "proportionate" in debt recovery process. Suppliers must make sure all action is proportionate to amount owed • There are unpaid charges which are genuinely in dispute • You have entered in to breathing space Clarification on late payment fees Late payment fees rarely used to be applied to the customer, so although there were often provisions in contracts to charge them, they would not end up affecting the bill-payer as the supplier would waive the fees or pay them themselves. However, there do appear to be moves to begin charging late payment fees, a sign that suppliers are preparing to fight back. For example, Bulb emailed customers recently to warn them they may be charged for late payments: https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/19282521/energy-firm-change-direct-debit-payments/ Common fees are around £10-£20 per missed payment. Can you lose your Direct Debit discount (rather than being kicked off your tariff)? There is a difference between losing your tariff rate, versus a discount being applied because you pay by Direct Debit. As Debt Camel lays out below, you are likely to lose your Direct Debit discount until you set your Direct Debit up again. https://debtcamel.co.uk/cancel-energy-dd-dontpayuk/ Clarification on Energy Ombudsman complaints To be clear, a complaint to the Ombudsman would need to be considered a valid dispute in order to halt your energy's supplier's enforcement action. If you make a complaint that is not considered valid by the Ombudsman, the energy company may continue to seek payment without it breaking their rules. Prices alone are unlikely to be considered a valid dispute, but if you have had something else that has gone wrong with your contract or supplier (e.g. not taking into account your vulnerabilities after a request) then now might be the right time to begin the complaints process! USEFUL LINKS • CheckMyFile credit report check: https://www.checkmyfile.com/ • Energy Ombudsman: https://www.ombudsman-services.org/sectors/energy • Debt Camel further information: https://debtcamel.co.uk/cancel-energy-dd-dontpayuk/ • Fuel Rights Handbook: https://cpag.org.uk/shop/cpag-titles/fuel-rights-handbook-20th-ed • National Debtline Gas and Electricity Arrears Fact Sheet: https://www.nationaldebtline.org/fact-sheet-library/gas-and-electricity-arrears-ew/ Comment by Patrick Foster I typed out pretty much the whole thing here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sLfCQe4HAOxmL-_EkWfSAUY_SPAhPTY7lg2WoY2RiNY/edit 2022-09-14T11:19:07Z Comment by Don't Pay UK 34:35 - "If the billpayer goes into energy debt in a house, will anyone else living in the house get blacklisted?" 36:45 - "Can not paying your energy bills affect your immigration status if you do not have secure status in the UK?" 43:10 - "If I want to stop my strike, can I offer to pay upfront to end debt enforcement?" 44:40 - "How does complaining to the Energy Ombudsman work, and would it be applicable to this situation?" 48:55 – Outro 2022-08-10T12:54:15Z Comment by Don't Pay UK 20:35 - "Can my energy company install a pre-payment meter if I don't pay? How long does this process take?" 24:10 - "If I cancel my DD, does it mean I'll be kicked off my energy tariff and onto a higher rate?" 25:10 - "How do credit reports work?" 27:00 - "How long does it take before energy companies might register a default on your credit report?" 28:25 - "What does it affect if my credit score drops?" 30:20 - "If I'm on benefits, can my fuel debt be recovered from by benefits by the DWP?" 32:15 - "Does paying a small amount rather than paying nothing affect whether energy companies enforce debt in the same way?" 32:45 - "If somebody's already been in debt with their fuel company and cleared them, will that change how the energy companies enforce the debt?" 2022-08-10T12:53:50Z Comment by Don't Pay UK INDEX (1) 0:00 - Podcast introduction 2:40 - Training session opening 8:05 - Start of Q&A with debt advisor 8:35 - "When I cancel my Direct Debit in October, what's likely to happen first?" 10:15 - "Is not paying my energy bills a criminal offence?" 11:50 - "If I stop my DD via my bank, can the energy company start it again?" 12:40 - "If I schedule to stop my Direct Debit, will it notify my energy company and will it have implications?" 15:25 - "Energy is often called a 'priority debt' by debt advisors - what does that mean?" 17:15 - "Is my energy company likely to start to charge me late payment fees if I miss payment dates?" 17:55 - "Will energy companies send someone round to knock on my door to get me to pay?" 19:10 - "How long does it usually take for it to get to the point where they send round a debt collector?" 2022-08-10T12:53:09Z
