Pensioners 'feel like second class citizens' as energy bills QUADRUPLE

The rise has prompted concerns among pensioners who say the cost of running warm water has now overtaken everyday household expenses.

Walsall Housing Group, which manages both buildings, said it could no longer maintain what it described as artificially low charges.

The organisation replaced individual gas boilers in the properties in 2021 following safety concerns and installed a centralised heating system supplying both tower blocks.

David Turner, a 73-year-old resident, said his daily spending on energy had become "really astronomical" despite deliberately limiting his usage.

He told the BBC he heats only one room in his flat but still pays around £3 each day.

Mr Turner said his arthritis caused him to feel the cold more severely, making it difficult to reduce usage further.

Kathleen Haughton, a 96-year-old resident, said she was unsure how the new pricing structure worked.

She said tenants attended a meeting in the communal area and learned that the higher charges had already been applied.

Mrs Haughton said residents wanted rates reduced, stressing that adequate heating was essential for people who spend most of their time in their homes.

Pensioners on fixed incomes have raised concerns that the price changes have made budgeting more difficult, with some bills reported to have more than tripled.

Local councillor Mark Statham, who represents Bloxwich East, raised questions about the large difference in pricing between the two tower blocks.

He said the disparity appeared to reflect a calculation based on each building’s operational costs and revenue requirements.

Tenants have also reported reliability issues with the heating system.

Residents said Hamilton House lost heating for around 16 hours over the weekend, with some claiming outages happen nearly every month.

Labour pledged households would save £300 by 2030, but bills remain above pre‑Ukraine war levels of £1,100 a year, with knock‑on effects across the economy.

Mr Turner said the combination of service interruptions and sharply higher bills left residents feeling like second class citizens.

He said that while inflation had increased costs more broadly, the scale of this rise felt considerably higher than standard price pressures.

Several residents said they were unsure whether their charges reflected fair value and questioned the overall level of service provided.

Rob Gilham, a director at Walsall Housing Group, said the organisation was not attempting to profit from providing heat to its tenants.

He said the charges had been held below cost for several years and that the housing provider had absorbed a significant portion of expenses.

Mr Gilham said residents had previously paid around £200 a year for heating and hot water, a figure he described as far lower than typical energy costs for similar properties.

He said continuing to subsidise such a low rate for a small number of residents was no longer financially sustainable.

The director said the new prices meant tenants were now covering what he called the "full and fair" cost of their energy.

He said an average user would expect annual bills between £412 and £530, which he noted remained below the national average of £1,266 published by Ofgem.

The changes have prompted ongoing discussions between residents, councillors and Walsall Housing Group as tenants seek clarity over future pricing and reliability of supply.

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