{"id":9155,"date":"2026-05-15T08:38:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T08:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herefordshirecab.org.uk\/?page_id=9155"},"modified":"2026-05-15T13:25:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T13:25:55","slug":"speak-seek-save","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/citizensadviceworcester.org.uk\/index.php\/speak-seek-save\/","title":{"rendered":"Speak, Seek, Save."},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>What to do if you owe money to your energy supplier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0ZllpLadLhI\">Watch the &#8216;Speak, seek, save&#8217; video on YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Speak, Seek, Save\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0ZllpLadLhI?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re in debt to your energy supplier, you should speak, seek, and save. It\u2019s important to speak to them as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what you need to know&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Speak to your energy supplier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re struggling to afford your bills, you should contact your supplier as soon as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your supplier has to help you come to a solution and negotiate a payment plan that works for both of you. When making a payment plan, they have to take into account how much you can afford to pay and how much energy you\u2019ll use in future. On a payment plan, you\u2019ll pay in fixed amounts towards the debt you owe over a set period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you can\u2019t come to an agreement with your supplier about repaying your debt, you should&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensadvice.org.uk\/consumer\/get-more-help\/if-you-need-more-help-about-a-consumer-issue\/\">get help from one of our consumer advisers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Seek advice on managing debt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Energy bill debt is classed as a priority debt, so it\u2019s important to get advice from a charity or organisation to help you manage your debt as soon as you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A debt charity will help you with long-term strategies to reduce your debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But be careful, as not all debt advice is trustworthy. You should use the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stepchange.org\/make-sure-its-us.aspx\">StepChange checklist on the StepChange website<\/a>&nbsp;to make sure you\u2019re getting advice you can trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>National providers of free debt advice include&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensadvice.org.uk\/debt-and-money\/help-with-debt\/\">Citizens Advice<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.stepchange.org\/\">StepChange<\/a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/nationaldebtline.org\/\">National Debtline<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Save energy by making sure your home is energy efficient<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensadvice.org.uk\/consumer\/energy\/energy-supply\/save-energy-at-home\/\">&nbsp;simple changes you can make around your home to be more energy efficient<\/a>, such as checking your central heating or using your appliances differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might also be able to get towards the cost of making bigger energy efficiency changes around your home, such as getting a new heating system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But make sure you keep your home warm enough so there\u2019s less risk of your home becoming damp and you getting ill. And make sure you keep essential appliances, such as your fridge, switched on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You could also use a smart meter to help manage your energy use \u2013 they can show you how much energy you\u2019re using in real time. We have&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensadvice.org.uk\/consumer\/energy\/energy-supply\/your-energy-meter\/\">advice on how to use your smart meter<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Need more help?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensadvice.org.uk\/about-us\/information\/contact-the-consumer-service\/\">Our consumer service<\/a>&nbsp;can help if you\u2019re struggling to afford your energy bills or struggling to come to an agreement with your supplier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Citizens Advice consumer helpline:&nbsp;<strong>0808 223 1133<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Lines are closed on bank holidays. Calls from mobiles and landlines are free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Other links you might find useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensadvice.org.uk\/consumer\/energy\/energy-supply\/\">Citizens Advice energy advice<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.citizensadvice.org.uk\/consumer\/energy\/energy-supply\/save-energy-at-home\/get-help-with-the-cost-of-energy-efficiency\/\">Get help towards the cost of energy efficiency<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.stepchange.org\/make-sure-its-us.aspx\">StepChange checklist for debt advice<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/improve-energy-efficiency\">Find ways to save energy in your home<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/nationaldebtline.org\/\">The National Debtline<\/a><a href=\"\/\"><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What to do if you owe money to your energy supplier Watch the &#8216;Speak, seek, save&#8217; video on YouTube If you\u2019re in debt to your energy supplier, you should speak, seek, and save. It\u2019s important to speak to them as soon as possible. Here\u2019s what you need to know&#8230; Speak to your energy supplier If [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-9155","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citizensadviceworcester.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citizensadviceworcester.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citizensadviceworcester.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citizensadviceworcester.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citizensadviceworcester.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9155"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citizensadviceworcester.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9176,"href":"https:\/\/citizensadviceworcester.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9155\/revisions\/9176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citizensadviceworcester.org.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}