Ofwat calls for trials to help with cost of living

26th September 2022 Consumer Collections | #water bills

Water regulator, Ofwat is calling on water companies to trial creative and targeted ways in calculating customers’ charges to help make sure those who need support can get it. In the midst of cost of living concerns, the regulator is pushing companies to think differently about how they work with customers and develop models of…

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Energy suppliers ordered to improve treatment of customers in debt

23rd September 2022 Consumer Collections | #enerrgy

Scottish Power and Utilita have been issued a provisional order by Ofgem compelling the energy suppliers to improve how it treats customers in debt. A review conducted by Ofgem into suppliers’ practices found a number of apparent failings around the way it sets debt repayment plans and deals with customers struggling with bills. Provisional Orders…

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Bank of England raises interest rates to 14-year high – consumer credit industry reaction

The Bank of England has raised interest rates from 1.75% to 2.25% and indicated that Britain’s economy is now in recession. A majority of the Bank’s nine-member monetary policy committee voted to increase the key base rate by 0.5 percentage points, judging that the risks of inflationary pressures becoming entrenched outweighed the short-term dangers to…

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Chancellor could leave low-income families out in the cold with tax-cutting agenda

23rd September 2022 Consumer Collections |

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is urging the Chancellor to go beyond tax cuts in Friday’s (23rd September) fiscal statement with more targeted support for households that will desperately need it. New analysis from JRF looked at the cost rises facing low-income working-age households on means-tested benefits this tax year compared to last tax year…

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Two in five households wrongly believe new energy price cap means their bills cannot go above £2,500

22nd September 2022 Arrears and Recoveries | #energy bill

Almost two in five households (38%) wrongly believe that the Government’s energy price guarantee means their bills cannot go above £2,500, according to new research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service. The measures announced by Prime Minister Liz Truss will support people with their energy bills, and avoid the nightmare scenario of Ofgem’s price…

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One in five adults behind on one or more household bill

21st September 2022 Arrears and Recoveries | #arrears

One-fifth of UK adults are already behind on one or more household bill, and one in nine have gone without food as a result of rising costs, according to new research from the Money Advice Trust. While the government’s Energy Price Guarantee removes the risk of energy bills climbing even further, the charity, which runs…

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Low-paid workers say cost-of-living crisis is the worst financial period they have faced

20th September 2022 Consumer Collections |

Record high inflation combined with low wages is hitting Britain’s 4.8m low paid workers harder than anything they have faced before, including the Covid-19 pandemic, new research by the Living Wage Foundation has revealed. Polling of over 2,000 workers earning less than the real Living Wage, by the Living Wage Foundation and Survation, found 78% of…

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Personal insolvencies rise by 4.1%

Latest monthly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvencies increased by 4.1% to 9,572 in August 2022 compared to 9,198 in July, and were 5% higher than August 2021’s figure of 9,117. Personal insolvencies also increased 7.4% from August 2019’s total of 8,910. The figurse showed that there…

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78% of workers paid below the real living wage rate

16th September 2022 Arrears and Recoveries | #real wage

Record high inflation combined with low wages is hitting Britain’s 4.8m low paid workers harder than anything they have faced before, including the Covid-19 pandemic according to new research by the Living Wage Foundation. Polling of over 2,000 workers earning less than the real Living Wage, by the Living Wage Foundation and Survation, found 78%…

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Energy price freeze eases recession risk

13th September 2022 Consumer Collections | #energy price cap

Economists believe the energy price cap announced by new Prime Minister Liz Truss as part of a rescue package significantly cuts the chances of Britain going into recession according to EY Item Club analysis. The EY ITEM Club now expects CPI inflation to peak below 11% in October, rather than the 15% peak which might…

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Energy must be rationed to avoid blackouts

12th September 2022 Consumer Collections | #energy bills

The decision by Liz Truss’s government to support energy spending could make blackouts more likely, according to analysis by the Resolution Foundation The Foundation says Liz Truss’s first major act as Prime Minister has been to set out an energy support package to hugely reduce the scale of the living standards catastrophe this winter by covering…

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Government announces energy price cap for households – industry reaction

8th September 2022 Arrears and Recoveries | #energy bills

New Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced plans that will limit energy bill rises for all households for two years. The measures will mean that a typical household energy bill will be capped at £2,500 annually until 2024, saving households £1,000 a year on the energy price cap announced for October. Commenting on the announcement…

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Workers face £2k hit to real wages as recession risk looms

8th September 2022 Consumer Collections |

UK workers are facing a £2000 hit to their real wages by the end of the year as the UK economy confronts a highly volatile and uncertain inflationary outlook, according to the latest PwC Economic Outlook. Although the UK economy will continue to grow at a rate of between 3.1% and 3.6% in 2022 (compared to…

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