If you stop paying your energy bills and do not engage with your supplier in any way (including through Ophelos) it is likely they will take action against you.
The action they take will vary depending on the company. Generally, they will contact you after you miss a payment to ask you to pay or check if something is wrong.
Any subsequent action is likely to increase in severity the longer time goes on. This could eventually result in any of the following outcomes:
Stepchange have a page explaining the various steps of the debt collection process here.
Not paying your bills can cause problems for you in the future. It is highly recommended to keep paying your bills if you can.
There is help available if you are concerned about staying on top of things. You can find more information on what to do if you’re struggling with your energy bills here. The page covers:
You can also refer to our cost of living toolkit for more resources.
You should try to keep on top of your monthly usage to stop the debt increasing, even if you can’t afford to make payments towards the debt.
You should also contact your supplier as soon as you can to let them know you are finding it difficult to make repayments. It is important to let them know if you are worried so they are aware of your situation, and can recommend how to manage going forward.
It is important to get in touch with your supplier (or Ophelos) as soon as possible if you are struggling to pay. You should also get in touch if you have decided to seek further help. This is so they are aware of your situation and will know why you haven’t paid or been able to engage.
When you get in touch, your supplier may do the following:
Your supplier should also deal with someone who is working on your behalf if you would find it difficult to contact them yourself. They will need your explicit permission in order to do so.
You can find more resources to help you if you can’t afford your energy bills here.
If you think you need help and aren’t sure how to move forward you could follow our suggested next steps below to help you make a start.
It’s really important to let us know if you’re struggling and feel you need more support. Please email us at support@ophelos.com, or respond to any messages we’ve sent you, and tell us you need help.
We will never put pressure on you to agree to payments you can’t afford, we simply want to be aware of your situation so we can assist you.
If you talk to us we can:
If you can afford it, keeping on top of payments may help prevent problems in the future, particularly for your energy bills. If you feel able to make manageable payments for the time being you can set something up through your Ophelos account or talk to our team.
If you don’t think you can manage to pay anything right now please let us know. There is help available, and if you are struggling our team will give you space to look into support.
There is a lot of information out there and it may be difficult to know where to start.
Here are some tools which may help you think things through:
Your first step could simply be deciding to talk to someone for more advice. You can find a local adviser for benefits, housing, jobs, and legal issues here. You can find a list of free debt advice organisations here.
While we are managing your account it is important to keep us up to date. If we give you some space we’ll always let you know how long the hold will last. This is so you’re aware when you need to get back in touch to let us know how you have got on.
When you update us we’ll be able to clarify next steps for you.
This could involve: