Elderly residents in two high-rise blocks in Walsall say they are being treated as 'second-class citizens' after their social housing provider quadrupled charges for heating and hot water without warning.
Sudden Price Surge Leaves Residents in Shock
The dramatic increase took effect on 1 October. Tenants in Woodall House saw their unit price for energy jump from 4p per kWh to 13.75p. For those in the neighbouring Hamilton House, the rise was even steeper, soaring from 4p to 17.67p per kWh.
The Walsall Housing Group (WHG) removed individual gas boilers from each flat in 2021, installing a central heat network for safety reasons. The group now says it can no longer afford to subsidise the previously low rates it had been charging.
Resident David Turner, 73, stated he is now spending around £3 a day to heat just one room due to arthritis. "It is really astronomical," he said.
Inconsistency and Lack of Trust
The differing prices between the two identical tower blocks has sparked anger and confusion. Bloxwich East ward councillor, Mark Statham, has heavily criticised WHG for the discrepancy.
"If you do all the maths, there's only one conclusion you can come to," Councillor Statham argued. "Every block should be the same... The only way you can get to the blocks being different prices is if they analyse how much they make from each block."
He also accused WHG of fostering a 'deep mistrust', with residents fearing they would be 'blacklisted' if they complained. WHG has denied this, stating no tenant would be disadvantaged for raising concerns.
Landlord's Defence and Ongoing Issues
Rob Gilham, WHG's Corporate Director of Strategy, Assets and Transformation, defended the move. He explained the group had covered a large part of the expense for years, with customers paying an average of just £200 per year.
"It was not sustainable to continue subsidising these low rates," he said. He claimed an average user would now pay between £412 and £530 annually, which WHG insists is still below the national average.
Residents, however, report ongoing problems with the reliability of the new system. The heating in Hamilton House failed for 16 hours last weekend, an incident described as a 'near monthly occurrence'.
For 96-year-old Kathleen Haughton, the logic of the new prices is impossible to grasp. "We'd like to see the prices go down," she said simply. "You've got to have your heating on sitting in your flat."
