This report is, at heart, further evidence for the Debt Relief Scheme. It's mortifying that Ofgem and DESNZ have sat on their hands this long. The government needs to intervene and get this policy over the line.
Why aren't they engaging? They're worse off - but ALSO because when they do engage, outcomes aren't good. NAO finds satisfaction scores for financially vulnerable customers are much lower than average. People who reach out for help, don't find it.
I love when a new National Audit Office report drops - they really get into the weeds of why policy does and doesn't work. Their latest on utility sector regulation is well worth a read. 🧵
www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/u...
And write off is CHEAP. Writing off £370m of energy debt would cost £77m-£115m. Extrapolating from that, writing off all £4.5bn could cost less than £1bn?? SO CHEAP compared to the profits being made by the energy industry.
Customers with repayment plans owe £1000 less than those without. But the vast majority of debt has no repayment plan - just 25% of customer debt to energy companies has one in place.
This tells us something important: people engaging and "addressing their debts" are actually better off.