Payment holiday for gas and electric to pay off debt?

Gonzo1987

I have a small debt which I am tackling now, of £97.06

I can pay this off in full this month if I take a payment holiday on my gas and electric bills. Is this a sensible thing to do?

HappyMJ

Gonzo1987 wrote: »

I have a small debt which I am tackling now, of £97.06

I can pay this off in full this month if I take a payment holiday on my gas and electric bills. Is this a sensible thing to do?

I don't think so. You could try reducing your monthly direct debit if your supplier agrees but I wouldn't take a payment holiday just before winter.

Non payment of a debt in full doesn't have many consequences. Non payment of gas and electricity could cause disconnection and significant further costs. Find the money elsewhere. Try switching your gas and electric you might free up enough to pay off your debt much quicker.

19lottie82

I don't think Utility companies offer payment holidays, although no harm in asking.

If they say no, then make sure you pay as usual. If you have entered an agreement with them and default on it you will mess up your credit rating for a long time. Not worth it.

In fact, even if they do say yes, it may still impact on your rating, so personally I wouldn't bother.

poppasmurf_bewdley

Personally, I would say that if you can't pay off a debt of £97.06 at the end of the month without having to cancel payments to your gas and electricity account, then you are living too close to the knuckle, but without knowing your full circumstances no-one can really advise you.

If you are earning £2k per month and can't pay, then you are spending too much on unnecessary things. If you are earning £500 per month and can't pay, then you need to ask friends or family to help in the first instance.

Gonzo1987

On my online account with BG I have the option of taking a paymentholiday, which is why I initially came up with the idea.

My monthly payments are £30 which I can afford, If it wasn’tmy boyfriend’s birthday this month I could afford to pay the whole thing off infull. I just didn’t know if it was worthgetting it cleared, because once it is cleared the increase in my DD forgas/elec won’t be affected because I’ll have the spare £30 pcm from paying offthe debt.

ValHaller

What you are proposing to do is to rob Peter to pay Paul. It is not a habit to start on because it will leave you shuffling debt around forever. If you are straight on Gas and Electricity, keep it that way.

Mara_uk7

Forget about the BFs birthday ... If hes any good he will understand you are deferring his pressie !

McKneff

Buy him a cheaper pressie, your utilities are far more important, I don't know how you cant see that...

Gonzo1987

Im not going to not pay my bills to get him a present. I have budgeted for the month to include all bills/payments and his birthday. Nothing will go unpaid. I just wondered if it was worth getting rid of the debt totally as it will free up more cash and I can afford the extra cost for a higher dd til Feb

hummingbird

I wouldn't do it Gonzo - as someone else has just said, winter is on it's way.

Can you sell some stuff on ebay to raise extra for the loan?

Gonzo1987

I don't really have much in the way of possessions! I really don't think I have much to sell except books. And even then there is not much!