Don’t Pay ……….. Will you be signing up? I’m in!

Oh dear JE stop defending the indefensible we in this pickle partly due to this criminal government not a generous government

I am relieved to see that most people realise how very unwise this refusal to pay would be.

There are always ways to save money. As someone mentioned, cancelling certain subscriptions like Sky along with other memberships which aren’t essential, would be a good start. There are lots of other examples and it’s up to all of us to decide what we personally can do without.

Just one or two sacrifices, along with the generous help from the government and suddenly the picture doesn’t look too bad at all.

HousePlantQueen

I am seriously considering cancelling my DD and paying for usage only.

I have done this as it means the energy company doesn't have a large chunk of my money in its bank account, in advance of the bill being due.
It does mean I have to be on the ball each month (I'm billed monthly) to put in a reading and pay a suitable amount.

How on Earth will not paying help?! Like everyone else, I'm concerned about the rising cost of gas and electricity, but I'll pay for what I've used, which is what we all should be doing.

Unlike a lot of people, I don't qualify for any financial help towards fuel bills - not old enough/not on Universal Credit of pension (my husband still works, I don't, due to having had a stroke). We'll have to pay, no matter what it costs. It means that we'll have to reduce our consumption, and we'll need to cut down on other things wherever we can.

MaizieD it's so interesting how many people don't understand how tax works

I've seen many people angry that if they earn over 50,000 they have to pay 40% tax but if they earned £49,000 they would only pay 20%

People have literally turned down pay rises because they don't understand.

Up to 12,000 I think it is, No one pays tax on that amount.

Then anything between 12,000 and 50,000 is 20%

Then everything over 50,000 is 40%

Which means if you earn say 55,000 you still pay nothing on your first 12,000 then you still pay 20% on 38,000 and you only pay 40% on the 5,000.

We've never had a DD. Until recently we got a quarterly bill, checked our meters, if it was very close to the billed usage we paid the bill. If not we sent the meter reading in for a bill correction. Now we're with someone else who only does monthly bills and we're doing the same thing. Except they got a bit stroppy about us not sending meter readings each month so MrA told them to come and read the meter themselves.

I'm not signing. If I use it, I shall pay for it.

DaisyAnne

HousePlantQueen

I am seriously considering cancelling my DD and paying for usage only.

I wonder how many will do just that?

We cancelled our DD last year.

I change my amount of direct debit so that I don't pay too much in the summer. The energy companies don't like it and you get warnings that you may have a deficit at the end of the year, but you can do it.

Afraid I don’t have the balls to sign up I can imagine it all going wrong
I d happily join a protest March definitely but that’s as far as I dare go

maddyone

I know we all pay tax Riverwalk.But some of us pay more than others. I pay some tax on my income. I agree that I should pay tax on my income, but I don’t agree that my grandchildren should have to pay for our heating bills now, when they are tax payers in the future.

You really don't have to worry about your grandchildren'paying' for this in the future.

I know that few people believe me, but taxation really doesn't fund spending.

(And even Jacob Rees Mogg admitted the other day that most of the UK's 'debt' is owed to its own bank, the Bank of England., so no worry about 'paying it back')

Re taxpaying by various sectors of society. We've been over this before. It is actually the poorest 10% who pay the greatest percentage of their income in taxes. That is from figures from one of the government agencies (I forget which one, probably the ONS)

Progressive pricing for energy seems like a really good idea, BTW.

So it seems as a pensioner I'm getting:
£400 (for everyone)
£200 (winter fuel allowance)
£300 (extra winter fuel allowance)
Total: £900
That seems very generous to me, so I won't be signing. Like others, I don't want the stress, don't want to mess up my credit rating, and don't want to rock the energy boat as that may bring us all extra grief in the long run.

I'm another who won't be signing

maddyone

No, I won’t be signing up either.

No way!

I know we all pay tax Riverwalk.But some of us pay more than others. I pay some tax on my income. I agree that I should pay tax on my income, but I don’t agree that my grandchildren should have to pay for our heating bills now, when they are tax payers in the future.

HousePlantQueen

I am seriously considering cancelling my DD and paying for usage only.

I wonder how many will do just that?

Not for me. rosie makes a good point about the possible damage this could do to someone's credit rating and I agree with others that this could do more harm than good.

use it, pay for it. Cut the cloth accordingly and I am definitely not signing

Just have a nominal sum for DD, say £50, to get the discount for having a DD, then top up each month to the actual amount.

I do this with Octopus - you get a monthly bill after a meter reading.

All online, quick and easy. This way I don't build up large a credit in the summer, nor risk a debit in the winter.

I also have a larger than average family VioletSky but I didn’t expect to sponge off the State to subsidise our decision.
I wasn’t talking about responsible people who think long and hard about their finances before adding to their family.

Like everyone though it’s so galling to think of the massive profits Shell and the like are raking in when the rest of us just have to get on and pay these wildly inflated prices.

The government is helping though. That’s the main thing to bear in mind.

I cancelled Sky because they wanted me to pay 3 months in advance. I'm not paying for future services that may or may not happen so they can have my money warning interest.

Direct debit to emergy companies does the same. I pay more in summer due to use in winter and they hve money for services not received to gain interest on.

I spend more in summer as we are out and about more.

I think I will actually do this and pay for what I actually use when I use it

They should also be charging the cheapest price for the first x number of units, steadily making it more expensive.

That's an excellent idea.

The larger ones will carry on and hold out. Less choice of supplier More profit for the big boys. more people with pre payment meters paying more for their fuel.

Yes. This is the bigger picture. 31 smaller energy companies have already gone bust, thus making the bigger companies ever less competitive and the consumer having fewer choices and paying higher prices in a smaller marketplace. And when energy companies fail because they're not financially viable (due to customers not paying their bills for example) that's passed onto every other energy company and we all pay more.

I doubt if we will sign up to this, as in my view (and others here) I believe it will exacerbate the problem. There may be an argument for stopping the direct debits, but not if our bills increase as a result.

HousePlantQueen

I am seriously considering cancelling my DD and paying for usage only.

Hi, yes, I was thinking of doing that too but my agreement advises that there is a higher charge if I don't pay by dd.

maddyone

Have you all forgotten the money you're being given? Most of us won’t be paying for it, just receiving it. Those younger than us will be paying for it through their taxes. I still pay tax so I will be paying, but others will pay much more. How much more do you want to load on to younger people to pay?

We all still pay tax Maddy !

Presumably you are referring to Income Tax, which is only about 25% of all taxes collected.

We pay VAT/various other taxes on most goods and services e.g. energy, insurance, pensions, building work, clothes, many foods, restaurants, etc.

Even the poorest in society pay their taxes, one way or another.