A new campaign is calling for people across the UK to stop paying their energy bills on October 1 if costs have not been reduced. As the cost of living continues to take a toll on millions of Brits, Don't Pay UK is aiming to get one million people to pledge to cancel their bills in a bid to force energy companies to reduce monthly bills.
This action is in response to soaring energy prices, which are expected to remain at more than two-and-a-half times their pre-crisis levels until at least 2024 after another increase in the price cap. This comes after Ofgem confirmed the energy price cap will be updated every three months, rather than every six months, as it warned that customers face a “very challenging winter ahead.”
The regulator said the change to when the energy price cap is updated “will go some way to provide the stability needed in the energy market, reducing the risk of further large-scale supplier failures which cause huge disruption and push up costs for consumers,” adding: “It is not in anyone’s interests for more suppliers to fail and exit the market.”
The same tactic of mass non-payment was deployed in the late 1980s and '90s to tackle Thatcher’s Poll Tax, which resulted in 17 million people refusing to pay. The group says that if even a fraction of the million that they want on board agree to stop paying their energy bills then they will be able to bring companies to the negotiating table.
The group has devised a three-point plan to get this to happen.
1. Build support
Don't Pay UK is an anonymous group of people whose plan is to demand energy bills fall back to an affordable level. For the plan to work, Don't Pay UK to want a million people to join them. Right now, the group is setting up email lists and is on Telegram, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit and Twitter to start telling people about this.
Zoom calls are being organised, as well as in-person meet-ups. They are also printing flyers and stickers in a bid to bring people together.
A statement on the group's website reads: "We'll need people, organisations and community groups to do all of this too, building this up street by street, estate by estate and city by city.
"The first step is to get thousands of people like you to say you support the strike."
2. Gather a million pledges
Don't Pay UK has confirmed that the only way of getting their message across is by turning out in serious numbers to show energy companies that they have some power.
A statement reads: "One million sounds like a lot, but millions more will already be thinking about whether they’ll be able to pay come winter and afford the other things they need to survive for them and their families.
"Even more of us will be angry about paying more than double what we used to pay for the same amount we use. Let alone food, petrol and mortages."
3. Cancel direct debits if price hikes go ahead
If government and energy companies have not reduced bills by October 1, the group say that they will take action by cancelling their direct debits. They hope that by everybody doing this on the same day they will be able to send a strong message to energy companies.
"It can only work if we believe in each other and show the powers that be that we would not stand for being treated as cash cows." Read a message on their website.
To see what's happening with Don't Pay UK, you can visit their website here.
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