Disabled pensioner breaks into tears over bill crisis

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A 70-year old pensioner broke down in tears as he admitted he could no longer afford his energy bills after they more than doubled. Dean, a disabled pensioner from Abingdon, told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that he has been turning off his heating and even sold his TV because of the mounting costs. This comes amid escalating energy bills and a cost of living crisis that risks getting worse.

Dean told Nick Ferrari that his bills had more than doubled from £109 to £249.

He said: “I’m a 70-year-old pensioner. My gas and electric bill has gone up by 50 percent already.

“I can’t afford it, Nick. I don’t know what I’m going to do!

“The only thing I can do is turn off all my heating. I cannot afford to heat my home.”

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He added: “I’m going to go into debt and then I’m going to go under because I won’t have the money to pay the debt.”

Mr Ferrari pleaded: “You can’t turn off the heating, you will freeze.”

Dean said: “I’m at my wit’s end. The price of food has gone sky-high and I don’t have a television anymore because I couldn’t afford the licence.

“So all I have is my radio. I’m so upset by what is going on now. I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

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Mr Ferrari mentioned that Chancellor Rishi Sunak was considering direct one-off payments to households struggling with energy bills.

The cash grant, devised by the Social Market Foundation (SMF), would see £300 sent to households that did not have a higher rate taxpayer, with an additional £200 for those on universal credit.

The proposal comes two weeks before the energy regulator, Ofgem, announces a rise of as much as £500 on the annual price cap on energy bills from April.

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The SMF even said that the one-off payments to households could be named after Rishi Sunak and even bare his signature.

However, Dean responded: “With this cash grant, I will last another three months and then go into debt.”

Joseph Rowntree Foundation, an anti-poverty charity, called for an “immediate emergency payment for people on the lowest incomes” to help them through the coming months.

Government ministers have been locked in talks with energy companies for several months exploring how they could help reduce the impact of rising bills on households.

Pressure is mounting on the Government to tackle the cost of living crisis as inflation soars.

Households will be the hardest hit from April when the rise in energy bills coincides with tax increases.

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