Most people will struggle to pay their energy bills on occasion. If you’re currently in this situation, don’t panic – there is help available. The first step you should take is to get in touch with your energy supplier.
Be Honest About Your Situation
Honestly is a virtue and customer service teams are there to help. If you explain your situation, more often than not, you will be granted more time to pay your debts, and without additional charges – this happened to me when I was with Scottish Hydro. If you’re given more time, but still don’t think you can make the deadline, again, be honest. Otherwise you may not be given the same privilege the next time you call.
Focus On Priority Debts
Energy arrears are considered a ‘priority debt’, this means you need to pay them off prior to other debts, such as credit cards. If you’ve been focusing on other debts, put them on the back burner for a while until you’ve got your priority debts covered.
Ask for Help
It may be that you could be entitled to some extra help with paying your bills. You may qualify for the Warm Home Discount if you live in the UK. This is offered by many leading energy suppliers and can help you to pay your winter fuel bill if you’re eligible.
You may qualify for the discount if you fall into any of the following categories:
- You are a tenant where the bills are in your landlord’s name and you pay your landlord for your gas or electricity
- You are elderly
- You are on a low income
- You have a disability or long term illness
- You have dependants under 18 years old
- You have severe financial insecurity
- You receive certain benefits
Even if you aren’t eligible for government or state benefits, don’t worry. There are still plenty of options. your energy company will usually be able to work out a reduced repayment plan where you can pay off any outstanding amount over a longer period of time, and at a much lower rate. You may also be offered some budgeting advice about to reduce your outgoings or signposted to external organisations that will be able to assist you with debt management.
Check Your Tariff
It is worth looking at your current energy tariff to see if you can switch to a cheaper rate. Switching energy supplier is a simple process that requires nothing more than a phonecall. While you may have to pay a cancellation fee – depending on your contract length – the long-term savings will make up for it.
If you regularly get estimated energy readings, it would be worth taking your own readings and submitting these to your energy supplier instead. Giving regular and accurate readings can help ensure you are paying the right amount of money for the energy you use.
Switch to Direct Debit
Most energy suppliers also offer a discount for paying by direct debit. Alternatively, you could save yourself around £40 per year by choosing a duel-fuel monthly tariff. In this scenario any outstanding energy debts will be added to your monthly bill and spread out across the year so you are not paying it back all at once.