Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have signed up to a ‘Don’t Pay’ campaign as energy bills soar.
From October 1st, those subscribing to the campaign say they will refuse to pay their energy bills for the foreseeable future.
The group has grown in numbers in recent weeks and is aiming for 1 million signups by that date.
“We demand the govt scrap the energy price rises and deliver affordable energy for all,” their manifesto reads. “We will build a million pledges and by October 1 if the govt and energy companies fail to act we will cancel our direct debits.”
One person, who is presumably joining the movement, posted: “If enough of us join in, the system of chasing late payments, court appearances for arrears etc will clog the system to a ridiculous degree. Especially for those of us who have held off switching to smart meters.”
Appearing on ITV’s Peston in late July, Martin Lewis said: “The big growth that I’m seeing is an increasing number of people calling for a non-payment of energy bills process. Effectively a consumer strike on energy bills.
“Many people are spontaneously calling for that. We are getting close to a poll tax moment.”
The money-saving expert said that the government need to get a “handle” on energy bills, as “once it starts becoming socially acceptable not to pay energy bills, people will stop paying energy bills, and you’re not going to cut everyone off.”