Bury St Edmunds mum shocked over 'ridiculous' 200% rise in fixed rate energy bill

A shop worker and mother has spoken of the enormous ‘pressure and stress’ she was under after being quoted more than £4,000 to fix in her energy for a year.

Naomi Mayer, 49, who lives in Bury St Edmunds with husband Alejandro Mayer, 47, and their two boys, understood they were facing a ‘ridiculous’ estimated annual rise in their gas and electricity costs of £2,831, taking their yearly bill with Octopus Energy up to £4,243 - a rise of 200 per cent.

Their current fixed rate with Octopus Energy ends later this month.

A spokesman for Octopus Energy told Suffolk News the family have the option of ‘doing nothing’ and rolling onto their standard variable tariff ‘Flexible Octopus’. He said currently this would work out at £1,921 for an average household.

Mrs Mayer said her husband, an executive chef, has been trying to secure work after his contract ended and her part-time job in Holland & Barrett doesn't cover the bills. The family live in a two/three bedroom privately-rented Victorian house that 'leaks energy'.

She wants to highlight how ordinary people are impacted by rising costs and for them to know they are 'not alone'. She is also calling on the government to do more to tackle the huge energy price rises and help people.

"I honestly thought 'this is the first time in my life I have felt pressure and stress like this'," said Mrs Mayer, referring to the fixed rate quote.

"We have never had lots of money, but we have always got by and we have always been able to get out of whatever situation we are in. With this I thought 'oh my God, I don't see a way out'."

The family have made a claim for Universal Credit, which Mrs Mayer believes they will receive next month, but added it would not cover their bills. She said they have no car, no luxury holidays and are 'very frugal' with the energy they use.

"I have started using the slow cooker rather than putting the oven on and I say to the boys 'no more than five minutes' for showers," she said.

In winter they only have the heating on for one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening.

"We are fortunate enough to have enough savings to cover one month of bills, but beyond that we really don't have anything; then we would really be relying on the foodbank," she added.

Speaking of the need for the government to do more to help, she said: "You hear about their parties and whatever and Rishu Sunak's wife is a multi-millionaire. They don't seem to live in reality. They don't really seem to know what the common people of England are going through."

She added: "I think there's going to be a lot more people made homeless in the next year or so who just cannot afford to keep up with bills."

Writing about the 'astronomical' rise in her energy bill on Facebook, she said: "I cannot believe in this day and age that we are in this situation.

"We are a middle class family who have worked hard and contributed to the country.

"I feel for all the families out there who are going to have to make very tough decisions to survive."

The government said it understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living and has taken action to support families worth over £22billion in 2022-23 to help.

This includes an energy bill rebate package, worth up to £350 each for around 28 million households.

Mrs Mayer said the family had received the £150 council tax rebate.

The Octopus Energy spokesman said the fixed quote was so high as 'prices for fixed tariffs are expensive across the board right now as wholesale energy prices have sky-rocketed'.

How have you been affected by the cost-of-living crisis? If you are happy to share your story, email mariam.ghaemi@iliffepublishing.co.uk