RUKUS.news

Acorn's direct-action campaign forces UK water firms into talks over bailiffs and debt

33m

Summary

  • Acorn, a community union founded in Bristol in 2014, campaigns by direct action against banks, councils and water firms over the cost of living.
  • Its national Dignity Not Debt campaign staged nine protests on 20 August, forcing four major water companies into negotiations.
  • The companies conceded on bailiffs, artificial intelligence in debt collection, complaint routes and possible debt write-offs.
  • Acorn members in Bristol have campaigned for two years against the council's use of bailiffs to recover council tax and other debts.
  • An earlier national Acorn campaign against TSB over landlord mortgage conditions led the bank into negotiations and a policy change within days.

Reactions

  • United Utilities apologised for its handling of Yasmin's case and credited £250 to her account.
  • Yasmin said joining the union gave her confidence because nobody else was going to save them and people save themselves and each other.
  • Sam Kidel said members pushed into debt by bills, council tax and rents would not wait for politicians to sort it out.
  • Sam Kidel said small fines can end with bailiffs adding hundreds of pounds of fees for people with mental health issues.
  • Usman Akhtar said Acorn members take action on what they raise and hold the power to create change in their own communities.

Timeline newest first

  1. On 20 August, Acorn staged nine Dignity Not Debt protests, forcing Yorkshire Water, Severn Trent, United Utilities and Welsh Water into negotiations and securing concessions.
  2. Yorkshire Water agreed to stop sending bailiffs after vulnerable customers, and Welsh Water pledged not to use artificial intelligence in debt-collection decisions.
  3. United Utilities committed to avoiding artificial intelligence in customer dealings, while Severn Trent agreed to explore writing off debts accumulated since September 2021.
  4. Bristol Acorn members voted to escalate their two-year bailiffs campaign, disrupting a full Bristol city council meeting and prompting its cancellation.
  5. In a previous national campaign, Acorn targeted 32 TSB branches over mortgage tenancy conditions, and the bank entered negotiations and changed the policy within days.
  6. Acorn members in Leeds organised a blockade of a Yorkshire Water facility near Bradford as part of the union's direct-action campaigns.

Sources newest first

  • ‘Nobody else is going to save us’: the direct action group taking on the UK’s banks, bailiffs and water firmstheguardian.com· 33m

    A Guardian feature profiles Acorn, the community union founded in Bristol in 2014, whose direct-action campaigns take on banks, bailiffs and water firms over the cost of living. It says Yasmin's water-bill campaign grew into national Dignity Not Debt protests on 20 August that forced Yorkshire Water, Severn Trent, United Utilities and Welsh Water into negotiations and won concessions, including commitments on bailiffs and debt collection.

Background newest first

  • British Gas resumes force-fitting prepay meters months after £112m settlementtheguardian.com· 12d

    A Guardian news article reports that British Gas has resumed force-fitting prepay meters in the homes of customers who cannot afford their energy bills, months after paying the largest settlement on record, after Ofgem lifted a block dating back almost four years, with fittings possible from the coming winter though banned in homes with young children or people over 75. Campaigners including the End Fuel Poverty Coalition's Simon Francis warn the timing will add to households' stress, while British Gas defends the plan as a last resort with robust checks and a government spokesperson calls it a regulatory decision by Ofgem.