Charities call for ‘help to repay’ scheme for people struggling with energy debt

An estimated 5.5 million UK adults are behind on their energy bills, according to a recent survey, which has led to charities to call for a ‘help to repay’ scheme for energy bills to help those struggling the most with the cost-of-living.

The survey’s finding confirms the ‘heavy toll’ soaring energy bills have taken on household finances, with 2.1 million more people in energy arrears in April than a year ago and millions struggling to get help from their suppliers.

Some 7% of those polled said they were unable to access help with their bills after contacting their suppliers for support, while 6% reported being unable to get through to their firm.

An estimated 3.2 million people have received demands from their energy supplier for repayments of arrears they can’t afford.

As a result of these findings, 14 organisations and charities have written to the government to call for a dedicated ‘help to repay’ scheme for energy arrears, to provide repayment matching and the option to write off debts for people dealing with unaffordable arrears.

The letter also calls for urgent reform of debt collection practices for energy arrears.

Energy debt

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