Latest ONS data has found that the cost of living crisis has seen as a fifth of households go without heating. The research found that around one in twenty adults (5%) reported that they had run out of food and couldn’t afford to buy more in the previous two weeks amd that almost half (49%)…
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More than half of low-income households are in the dark about broadband deals that could save them around £200 a year, with just 5% of eligible households signed up to a discounted package. These special offers, known as social tariffs, are available to an estimated 4.3 million households that receive one of a range of government…
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StepChange Debt Charity has revealed the toll a year of increased living costs has had on Scots’ finances. Despite government interventions to help with soaring costs, the average amount a StepChange client is behind on household bills has increased by a shocking 68%, from £1,739 in 2021 to £2,920 in 2022. Among arrears on essentials,…
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New research from Tink has found that almost one in four (23%) consumers are ‘financially vulnerable’, with the majority (56%) expecting their situation to get worse over the next 12 months. The research also found that 56% say the situation will worsen as they expect their discretionary income to fall over the next 12 months.…
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Nearly a third of homeowners (30%) are struggling to cover the increased cost of borrowing having seen the monthly cost of their mortgage increase by hundreds of pounds a month following interest rate rises, according to new research by Barrows and Forrester. The survey of 2,304 current homeowners with a mortgage found that 57% have…
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Latest quarterly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvency numbers increased by 38.9% in March 2023 to a total of 11,438 compared to February’s total of 8,237, and decreased by 1% compared to March 2022’s figure of 11,554. Personal insolvencies increased by 4.4% when compared to March 2021’s total…
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A new Smart Data Council has been set up to help lower bills for consumers and small firms by making it easier to switch utility providers, the Department for Business and Trade has announced. The loyalty penalty, the difference between what loyal and new consumers pay for the same service, currently sits at £1,114 a…
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Data from the Bank of England shows that banks and building societies have seen an increase in defaults. In the three months to February, lenders said that default rates on secured loans to households, such as mortgages, and unsecured loans, such as credit cards, increased and are expected to increase further in the next three…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that second charge mortgage new business volumes fell by 10% in February 2023 Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Director of Consumer & Mortgage Finance and Inclusion at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said:…
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Low-income households will be left an average of £209 short on their energy bills this financial year, new Which? research has found, as the consumer champion calls for an energy social tariff to protect the most financially vulnerable. Even with the government’s decision to keep the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 for an average household…
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The Government has announced an extension to its mortgage support for benefit claimants. The new change will mean that an additional 200,000 Universal Credit claimants will be able to access quicker support with their mortgage. The move will mean support for Mortgage Interest loan scheme extended to 200,000 additional Universal Credit claimants in efforts to…
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This weekend’s increase in the minimum wage won’t ‘lift the pressure’ on hard-pressed families, the TUC has warned. The TUC highlighted that the minimum wage will rise below inflation and far lower than soaring food prices. Analysis by the union body shows that minimum wage workers will miss out on £124 this year as a…
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Debt charity StepChange has released its client data for February 2023, which shows monthly client volumes continue to rise, they were 19% higher in February 2023 (16,076) compared to February 2022 (13,543). StepChange says the average (mean) unsecured debt per client has increased by 25% from £11,176 in 2021 to £13,941 in 2022. There was also…
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