Water companies in Wales must build a stronger relationship with their customers to reduce the risk of households missing out on vital help with their water bills and other assistance when they hit hard times. The Consumer Council for Water’s (CCW) annual survey Water Matters revealed about a third of household customers have little awareness…
A recent survey conducted by Hodge Bank has revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to more people wanting to help younger family members financially. A third (31%)** of those questioned said that since the COVID-19 outbreak giving a financial gift to children or grandchildren is more important to them, compared to 23% who said…
A third (34%) of consumers have used overdrafts, credit cards, payday loans and buy now pay later schemes to pay for essentials, according to new research by OpenMoney. The number is slightly up from last year when it stood at 33%. Just under a third (28%) have borrowed from family or friends to resolve financial…
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the findings of a review into re-lending by firms that offer high-cost credit. The review, which was completed prior to the coronavirus pandemic, highlights concerns about poor practices by some firms and notes that nearly half of consumers regretted borrowing more money. As firms in this sector begin…
Gamblers should be protected by a new £100-a-month cap on spending to limit the harm that can be done by online gambling, a new Think Tank report has recommended. The Social Market Foundation (SMF) has also called for a sweeping overhaul of the way gambling firms are taxed, to put financial pressure on companies registered…
Water companies need to build a stronger relationship with their customers to reduce the risk of households missing out on vital help with their water bills and other assistance when they hit hard times according to the Consumer Council for Water’s (CCW) annual survey. About one in ten customers told CCW their water bill was…
The number of complaints resolved by the Energy Ombudsman increased by 25% last year to nearly 57,000, as consumer demand for the service grew. Billing was the number-one type of complaint handled by the Ombudsman, followed by payments/debt in second place and customer service in third. There was a 26% year-on-year increase in the number…
Borrowing money from friends and family has reduced significantly since 2019, and even more so following lockdown, with a 58% decrease in borrowing, and a 52% decrease in lending, since March of last year according to new research by Lloyds Bank. According to the latest How Britain Lives research from borrowing significant sums of money from friends…
The number of County Court Judgments (CCJs) issued against consumers in the first half of 2020 (HY1 2020) was 320,494 compared to 587,433, a fall of 45 percent compared to the same period last year according to figures released by Registry Trust. This is the lowest number of records registered in the first half of…