Dealing With Energy Disconnection
If you're facing disconnection due to a debt, here's where you stand and what you should do.
Earlier this week I wrote about the huge numbers of people in fuel poverty and some tips if you're struggling with your energy bills. (See The Big Six Energy Suppliers Vs The Rest.) Here's some more information to help you if you're struggling with your bills.
Suppliers can disconnect most people
If you don't reach an agreement with your supplier about settling your debt, it can, unfortunately, disconnect almost everyone. In fact, there is no disconnection exception for families with small children, or those with big children either.
Suppliers can't disconnect everyone though. They can't disconnect you:
- if your debt is with a previous supplier, not the current one.
- if your debt is unrelated to your gas and electricity consumption (e.g. if you default on the repayments of a boiler bought from the supplier).
- when you're officially declared bankrupt.
- if you're an elderly or chronically sick customer during the winter months (October to March).
How to get reconnected
In the event of a disconnection, your supplier will give you instructions on how to get reconnected. The most important points are:
- Reconnection charges usually apply, and it usually happens after a debt settlement has been agreed only.
- The supplier may suggest to install a prepayment meter at the property in order to reconnect. While this may be tempting, you should know that getting your energy through these meters costs about 20% more, which will not help you with your debt problems in the future!
- Reconnection can take a week or more, as an engineer will have to come to the property. It's better to keep talking with your supplier to avoid disconnection in the first place.
Interest free reconnection loan
You may be able to get an interest-free Crisis Loan through the Department of Work and Pensions if you can't afford the reconnection fee. You will have to prove that you genuinely can't afford the fee, so this is an option of last resort only. You can read more about the Crisis Loan here and here.
Reduce your consumption
Paying more for each unit of gas and electricity is hard to avoid given the recent price increases but, by using less energy, it's still possible to take the edge off price increases.
These aren't new ideas, but if you're all set to look at ways to reduce your energy bills, you should trawl through the Energy Saving Trust website. You can also check there to see if you're eligible for a free home-insulation improvement grant.
More free services
Energy suppliers provide a number of free services that you may be able to receive. To read about them, go here.
Most important in dealing with energy debt
If you have an energy debt, it is most important that you don't ignore it. Your supplier must offer you options if you're in trouble. Just by contacting them to talk about the problem you will be buying yourself valuable time.
My huge thanks once again to Florian Ritzmann of Xelector (which powers The Fool's comparison tool) for his help with this article. He basically wrote it, although I'm certain he'll want to distance himself from my 'big children' wise-crack.
> Compare gas and electricity prices via Fool.co.uk
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Hi as a customer and authorised distributor for Utility Warehouse i have been amazed how much i have saved as a customer with them and my budgeting never been so good,fantastic i would say free calls working from home etc worked out saving over £850 a year and having been made reduntant 8 times between my hubby and i given us a wonderful income too no wonder the company top of the share market if you want more info or help contact me marian@bills4free.co.uk or freephone 0800 781 0368 happy new year 2009
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Hi, I'm an advice worker for a fuel poverty charity. I have found Energy Watch, the consumer watchdog to be very helpful when faced with all kinds of scenarios from my clients. Energy Watch took details of the situation from me, and then spoke to the power company concerned and resolved the issue every time and called me back to let me know what was happening, usually calling back within half an hour! Their telephone number is 08459 06 07 08.[br/][br/]Eurotraveler - is your mum receiving Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance? It would be a good idea to contact someone like [br/]Age Concern or the Pension Service to check her benefits for her and make any appropriate applications for her. These benefits are great not only for the additional income and they don't count as income for other benefits and anyone can apply regardless of other income by the way, but it will mean she can contact her fuel company and ask to be put on 'the priority service register'. This gives various benefits including a free gas safety check, provision of heaters etc. should there be any planned disruption to service and various other benefits. Also, Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance, Pension Credit, and some other benefits would qualify her for a Warmfront grant - if she is a homeowner. This would be £2700 towards a new heating system if hers breaks down.[br/][br/]Contact me at detailista@gmail.com if you want some more specific advice.
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As somebody who has experienced this firsthand recently, i could easily quash some of your statements, when i applied for a crisis loan i was informed that they do not cover utility bills, the trust charity as mentioned is not easy to get into.....in our experience nobody informed us of it until after disconnection, and when we found out about it from our own mean (luckily before disconnection) we were unable to apply as the company refused to send us an application form insisting that you could apply online and the link to apply online simply took you back to the homepage. Keep talking to the supplier also did no favours in our case as we ran up huge phone bills where they put us on hold cutting us off after 20-30mins, or promised to call back and never did.[br/]My energy supplier offered me NO options while i was in trouble and simply ignored our requests to review the issues surrounding the bill while secretly arranging disconnection, its not really a surprise that we never even received the letter about the court hearing after the way we have been treated.[br/][br/]And to make matters worse the supply is restricted to the same company until your debt is paid off, so while it is true that they cannot disconnect if you debt is with a previous supplier it is simply because you do not have the option of switching supplier until the debt has been cleared.
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06 January 2009