My dad is entitled to a rebate from his electricity provider – which got more and more urgent when temperatures dropped to -8C. He doesn’t have central heating, he’s 6ft 4in but only weighs about 8 stone. He needs the space heater on, but electricity has been costing him £15 a week. To claim the rebate on his behalf – which isn’t paid in cash, it just credits his account – I have to go to a post office with one of three forms of ID: either a passport, a driving licence or a utility bill. But my dad doesn’t have a passport or a driving licence. What’s the point when you’re too sick to travel or drive? He doesn’t have a utility bill as it’s all done online: who has a utility bill in 2023?
For weeks, my life has been hanging on the phone to his electricity provider, who assure me every time that the post office will accept alternative ID, like letters from the DWP or the council or the NHS – and then queueing in every post office within walking distance, only to be turned away in front of a long line of neighbours because it’s not the ID specified by the provider.
