>>17160466
>oh no despite being poor i used too much electricity and stuff
>muh bills

how exactly are you short?

>>17160468
I had to put down a deposit for a new place, normally I'd have enough but it came earlier than expected

>>17160466
can you call them and work something out? like, "if I get you 30 today and the rest within a week, will you please not shut off my power" or something like that? idk how it works where you are, but some power companies in the US will do that, as long as you have contacted them and promise to pay within a short time. idk how it will work for you, since your deadline is today, but it can't hurt to try.

>>17160468
I agree with you that people should budget and save for emergencies. however, shit happens. not all of us have someone to rely on if a bunch of sudden financial shitfalls happen at once.

You call them up and you tell them that you cannot afford to pay the bill yet and you work out a repayment plan which works for both of you. Duh.

Then the problem changes from "how do I dodge all these escalating final demands and threats of debt collectors which will eventually drive me insane and fuck up my credit and maybe result in legal action unless I get £100 in one day" to "ok I need to begin to reduce my energy usage while allocating slightly more of my income towards reducing the deficit and I'm on top of this shit".

If you ignore it, you'll get letters and threats to escalate. If you deal with it, you'll have an outcome which will hopefully be agreeable to both sides.

I mean, they'll just want their money. They'll be happy to accept that your account is in debt and you are paying an extra £5 a month or so to reduce the debt over time.

Also depends on how you pay your bills. If you are on a fixed direct debt then typically summer usage is lower and builds a credit against the typically higher winter usage.

>>17160474
>>17160475
Thanks guys, not sure why I hadn't thought of that, panicking a bit.
I'm not too certain if they'll allow a repayment plan thing because of how I pay the bills. I do it in big three month chunks for the energy I used in the last three months. I'm moving out at the end of the month so this is going to be the last chunk. Worth a crack though!

You live in the UK kid, they're never going to cut your utilities off. Just call and tell them how it is. In the future open your fucking post. £100 is quite a lot so it's not just one month's bills you're paying. I get my bill nearly a month in advance of payment.

>>17160496

Also, if you're simply late for the payment nothing happens. I kept getting late notices for the former tenant where I lived and it was like 4 months before they did anything about it. They weren't even trying to charge interest.

I gave them a ring and they agreed to let me pay in installments, thanks for the advice guys you're all the best

>>17160466
Call the power company's customer relations department. Tell them your tale of woe. If you pay SOMETHING, they'll carry you for a month or two.