‘I SIT IN COLD AND DARK AFTER METER RUNS OUT’
MORE than half of people struggling with debt have lived in the cold without heating during the past two years, a report reveals.
Three in 10 say they do this weekly, while some have lived without energy for two months.
These are the shocking findings of a report from debt charity Christians Against Poverty which found many people are starving themselves of heating, light, hot food and hot water.
John Teighe from Hereford knows exactly how much not being able to afford energy affects quality of life.
He was left destitute after his marriage broke down, and depression and addiction set in.
Despite getting his life back together and finding a new job, he still struggled to make ends meet as deductions from his wages for an unexpected benefit overpayment left him unable to cover his basic living costs.
John, 58, says: “I put my life back together again. I managed to get a job and advised everyone that I had started working. But I didn’t know I had run up debts that they started taking back through my wages. I was left with £70 a week to support myself.”
John had to use credit cards and relied on his family and a foodbank for meals. He adds: “It was a miserable experience. I’ve got both gas and electric on a prepayment meter. It’s not always easy to top the meters up. The number of shops that have a PayPoint has diminished. It also means you have to rob Peter to pay
Paul, so that you’ve got enough gas or light.
“It’s usually the electricity that goes short. I try to be frugal with the use of the washing machine and stick to one light in the evening. But when the meter runs out, you just have to manage. It is black and dark and not nice. I’d think what’s the point of struggling on?”
John got help from CAP in 2018 and in May last year was finally debt-free. He says he is so grateful for that help.
The charity says the scale of the problem is largely invisible to the Government, energy watchdog Ofgem and energy suppliers. It wants more to be done to ensure people can afford to use the energy they need to stop this severe rationing and long-term self-disconnection.
CAP chief executive Paula Stringer says: “Most of us go home to a warm home, cook food for our families and enjoy hot water without thinking about it – and in 2020, that’s how it should be. “It’s a terrible injustice that, behind closed doors, vulnerable people struggling with health problems or young children are deciding whether to put on a heater or have a hot meal because they can’t afford both.”
The issue cuts across payment methods and switching, it affects people on all types of meters and all types of households.
Paula adds: “It is heartbreaking to see the lengths people go to, to get by without basic facilities. We want to see Ofgem and suppliers work to find alternative ways of reducing debts, rather than the installation of a prepayment meter being the first option.”
We want to see Ofgem and suppliers work to find new ways of reducing debt