£200 energy rebate

Drastic

Why should I have to accept the energy rebate being given by Rishi Sunak, I look on this as a debt that I don’t want hanging over me for 5 yrs, having my bill increased to cover the repayment, what happens when the energy prices keep rising - I should have an option to opt out

emmajones1976

Of course you can opt out. Just disconnect your electricity from the grid in September for around 5 years.

MattMattMattUK

Drastic said:

Why should I have to accept the energy rebate being given by Rishi Sunak, 

You don't have a choice, so you can either like it or lump it.

Drastic said:

I look on this as a debt that I don’t want hanging over me for 5 yrs,

You can look at it as a debt, but the reality is that it is not.

Drastic said:

having my bill increased to cover the repayment,

In a round about way it should not have any net cost on an individual customer level, it in theory should work out at a slight saving due to inflation. It will ultimately cost anyone who is a net contributor and benefit anyone who is not. 

Drastic said:

what happens when the energy prices keep rising

The government will continue to distort the market, they will make some other gesture that will ultimately cost more in the long run. 

Drastic said:

I should have an option to opt out

You can cut yourself off from the gas and electricity networks, or you can leave the country, those are your choices if you wish to opt out. 

Robin9

What happens should  I die after receiving the £200 in October (or rather my account is credited) but before any repayments are due. Is this a debt against my estate ?

Flight3287462

emmajones1976 said:

Of course you can opt out. Just disconnect your electricity from the grid in September for around 5 years.

Better option wait until the £200 is paid then disconnect from the grid.  £200 in the back pocket for nothing.  Oh wait.......

GingerTim

Robin9 said:

What happens should  I die after receiving the £200 in October (or rather my account is credited) but before any repayments are due. Is this a debt against my estate ?

No, because it's not a personal debt but a charge levied on every energy bill.

Astria

Robin9 said:

What happens should  I die after receiving the £200 in October (or rather my account is credited) but before any repayments are due. Is this a debt against my estate ?

Nope, it's not a debt. It won't be on your credit file. Once you've received the £200 you are free to disconnect your services.

QrizB

Robin9 said:

What happens should  I die after receiving the £200 in October (or rather my account is credited) but before any repayments are due. Is this a debt against my estate ?

People with electricity accounts will receive a £200 credit in October. If you don't have an account you won't receive the credit.

People with electricity accounts will pay an extra £40/yr (11p/day) in standing charges from 2023. People without electricity accounts won't have to make standing charge payments.

Some options for opting out which don't involve dying are given here; you can probably think of others.

Xbigman

Astria said:

Robin9 said:

What happens should  I die after receiving the £200 in October (or rather my account is credited) but before any repayments are due. Is this a debt against my estate ?

Nope, it's not a debt. It won't be on your credit file. Once you've received the £200 you are free to disconnect your services.

Just because something is not on your credit file it doesn't mean its not a debt. Likewise things can appear on your file and not be a debt. 
This is like the long running discussion about a loan that is being repaid not being a debt until you miss a payment. There is no definitive answer because different people will have different views. My view is that some thing that I have to repay is a debt. Your view is different. 

So, its an entirely reasonable question to ask if its possible to opt out. And the polite answer is no its not. There is no need for stupid comments about going off grid or dying. 

Darren 

Astria

The way I think about it is this:

If I go overdrawn at a bank I have a debit balance. Therefore a debt.

If I loan money I have a debit balance. Therefore a debt.

This is a £200 credit. If you don't want it don't use it. Leave your energy account in credit by the same £200.

Your account will only go into a debit balance when it becomes negative. Then and only then will you owe your energy supplier money. They will likely increase your DD to bring your account back into credit.

However, I expect this "repayment" to be a complete farce. I don't think the "repayment" part will ever end. A much easier solution would be to allow people to actually go into debt if they needed to by going into a negative balance, but they didn't go that way.

Sea_Shell

I fear they'll be a lot of debit balances, once direct debits start bouncing all over the place.

Time to buy shares in pre-pay meter manufacturers? 😉