Anyone in the UK will know the current situation regarding energy costs and the cost of living.
Recently, I received an energy bill that had a 14,000% increase on my average monthly usage. I struggle with my mental health anyway, but this didn’t bother me at first because I just thought “it’s just some fuck up from the company and it will be sorted”. Months later and I’m still dealing with the issue and it’s draining. A mental breakdown at work after the latest email, to just sitting and crying in between my two jobs because I can’t deal with talking to another supervisor or manager that doesn’t have a clue what they’re doing.
Imagine if this was someone genuinely on the edge. A single mum struggling to feed her family or an elderly person who has to leave the house just to stay warm? How would this effect them on a mental level, what steps would they take to get this sorted?
I spoke to customer services of the energy company and offered some feedback that any sort of significant increase on bills should be signed off by a senior member of management before it goes out, for the above reasons.
Turns out, it already had. A senior member of management has looked at my £7500 electricity bill for my two-bed flat, where I’m the sole occupier, and thought “yeah, that looks right”.
And there’s ZERO consequences for this. These companies should be fined for their ineptitude and money going towards those already driven into financial hardship because of said companies greed.