[user104658]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

NatWest will suspend mortgages for 3 months if you're affected. Can't see this happening here though...

https://skwawkbox.org/2020/03/16/fro...p11Wnm2BkYc3z4

"Suspending"? Hmm. I can see them expecting those bills to be made up later and that's potentially even worse for those with tight finances. The temptation will be there to skip these bills even for those who don't need to right now, leading to them having bigger bills for the rest of the year and being even further stretched.

You can easily suspend your gas, electric, water and council tax bills in the UK for a couple of months. Just don't pay your direct debit. Nothing will happen, except that in a couple of months you'll need to set a new one up at an increased amount to cover the shortfall. It won't even affect your credit rating .

Rent is another matter; I can see them suspending council rents and being lenient with mortgages, leaving (as usual) private renters screwed over in the middle.