than last September with 6m behind on bills and households are warned over social media posts on 'gaming the system'
- Six million households are behind on their energy bills by more than £200
- Eight million bill-payers also reported as having no credit balances
- Don't Pay UK sees 100,000 pledges to the energy bill payment strike
- Experts warn that refusal to pay could have dire consequences
Household energy debt has hit at an all-time high of £1.3billion – nearly three times higher than it was in September, new data shows.
Six million households are already behind on their energy bills by more than £200 since Ofgem's price cap hike last April, the research from Uswitch claims.
An additional 8million bill-payers were also reported as having no credit balances, meaning a total of 14million households are likely to have little protection from financial hardship this winter.
Debt charities have also called for more support from the Government after energy arrears became the most common debt type for struggling households.
Despite growing anxiety around soaring energy bills, only 6 per cent of billpayers have considered asking suppliers for help.
Two in three Britons don't trust their energy providers, believing they are 'out to rip them off', while two in five think suppliers just make up the numbers on bills, research by Sagacity shows.
Typically, the summer months see households building up energy credit, helping shield them from rising energy usage in winter.
But as household energy debt increases, concern grow for how struggling households will be able to manage their debt and pay for their essential utilities.
Ofgem's energy price cap has already increased from an average of £1,277 to £1,971 last April, with forecasts suggesting this could reach a new highs of £3,582 from October, and £4,266 from January.
This has led to people trying to 'game the system' - almost one in ten are reportedly considering entering a false meter reading to reduce their bill.
Social media campaigns have been growing almost rapidly, with the Don't Pay UK campaign boasting almost 100,000 pledges to their mass-payment strike.
Some are suggesting struggling energy households should only pay for what they can and calling on customers to reduce direct debit in the coming months and not building up credit with their provider.
This, however, could prove catastrophic for struggling households when bills increase from October.
This is Money editor, Simon Lambert, says the backlash against rising energy prices is rapidly gathering steam, but is urging people to consider how energy direct debits work before reducing them.
وقال: "تجدر الإشارة إلى أن خصمك المباشر موزع على مدار العام ، لذا فأنت تدفع مبالغ زائدة في الصيف للمساعدة في فصل الشتاء ، وسأكون حذرا للغاية بشأن تصديق جميع الأشياء التي تقرأها على وسائل التواصل الاجتماعي".