Poor pay up to £1,000 more, says NEA

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<div class="rxbodyfield" xmlns:o="urn:www.microsoft.com/office" xmlns:st1="urn:www.microsoft.com/smarttags" xmlns:st2="urn:www.microsoft.com/smarttags2" xmlns:w="urn:www.microsoft.com/word" xmlns:x="urn:www.microsoft.com/excel"><p>Families from poorer backgrounds are paying up to 10% more on gas bills and up to 8% more on electricity bills by paying through prepayment meters rather than by direct debit, according to figures from the National Energy Action (NEA) group.</p><p>The leading fuel poverty action group has joined forces with Save the Children and the Family Welfare Association to encourage the so-called Big Six energy suppliers to equalise the charges for prepaid and direct debit customers for both gas and electricity.</p><p>William Gillis, Chief Executive of NEA, said that the report helps to illustrate how the poor are penalised. </p><p>&quot;We believe that vulnerable householders should not have to pay more for their electricity or gas just because of their financial predicament,&quot; he stressed. &quot;It is a scandal in this modern era that there are still three million people in England who cannot afford to heat their cold, damp homes to a safe and comfortable standard.&quot;</p><p>Unless drastic measures were made to push for the equalisation of prepayment meters, plus income maximisation for poor families, are taken, the government will struggle to end child poverty, according to Helen Dent, Chief Executive of the Family Welfare Association.</p><p>&quot;The government expends significant amounts of time and energy exploring the most effective ways to get more money into the pockets of low income families - yet they spend very little time addressing the unequal way in which it comes out of those families&#39; pockets,&quot; said Ms Dent. </p><p>Colette Marshall, UK Director of Save the Children, added: &quot;Children in these families are missing out on the best possible start in life, because their parents are being unfairly charged. As part of the End Child Poverty campaign, we demand that companies and government must work together to stop this deeply unfair financial punishment of families.&quot;</p><p>Is your energy supplier giving you the best price and service? uSwitch.com not only compares the cost of energy plans but also gives you the supplier&#39;s customer satisfaction score. See how well your gas &amp; electricity suppliers perform, with the <a href="http://www.uswitch.com/Energy/Index.aspx?">uSwitch.com energy calculator - you may be surprised at the results!</p><p><a href="http://www.adfero.co.uk" target="_blank"><img alt="track" src="http://feeds.directnews.co.uk/feedtrack/dn.gif?feedid=362&amp;itemid=18078358" style="border:0 0 0" />&#169; Adfero Ltd</a></a></p></div>