Cost of living crisis: Protesters drop 'Don't Pay' banners in Sheffield as energy prices leap
Campaigners dropped banners over a major Sheffield city centre road to protest at spiralling energy prices.
Banners were unfurled on bridges over Sheaf Street and Park Square Roundabout calling on people to stop paying from October 1.
The action came as Ofgem announced the energy price cap will jump to £3,549 in October.
It was part of a nationwide protest at rising bills set to put millions of households into debt, according to ‘Don’t Pay’.
The organisation is calling on people to refuse to pay bills until the price hike is scrapped.
Emma, a Sheffield care worker from Sheffield who joined her local group, said: “I’ve joined Don’t Pay UK to put pressure on the gas and oil companies to pay for the mess they’ve got us into. I work part time due to bad health, and can barely afford my bills as it is.”
Don’t Pay hopes that if millions refuse to pay it will be ‘impossible’ for government and energy companies to ‘ignore us or pursue individuals for not paying’.
Adam Hosker, director of Bradford-based mortgage broker, Cyborg Finance, recently warned about non-payment.
He said: “Anyone taking part in this particular internet challenge will be swinging a wrecking ball at their credit score and potentially pay for it for years to come.
“There are plenty of other ways to cut household expenditure that don't trash your future when it comes to securing a mortgage or taking out other forms of credit and debt.”
Don’t Pay is calling for the energy price cap to go back to pre-April 2021 levels and an emergency social energy tariff.