Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt agreed a new action plan with regulators to try to ensure consumers are being treated fairly and help those struggling to make payments. As part of the government’s plan to halve inflation this year, the Chancellor chaired a roundtable with CEOs from the Competition and Market Authority (CMA), Financial…
Read moreHere is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for May 2023 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,839.7 billion at the end of March 2023. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,513 and per adult was £34,589, around 105.3% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending shrunk by…
Read moreAs many as one million people cut off their broadband in the last year as the cost-of-living crisis left them unable to afford internet access, according to new research from Citizens Advice. People receiving Universal Credit were badly affected. The research found them to be six times more likely to have stopped spending on broadband…
Read moreNew research from National Debtline, the free debt advice service run by the Money Advice Trust, has revealed that the average level of priority debt – including council tax, energy and rent arrears – held by callers has risen 54 percent since 2018, from £2,642 to £4,080. The findings, based on a survey of National…
Read moreMore 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…
Read moreDebt 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…
Read moreHere is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for March 2023 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,837.4 billion at the end of January 2023. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,434 and per adult was £34,546, around 105.2% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
Read moreTwo in five (41%) young adults are worried about their ability to pay household bills at a time when many costs are set to rise over the coming months, according to Comparethemarket’s latest Household Financial Confidence Tracker. As the cost of living has risen over the past 12 months, 44% of 18 to 24-year-olds feel…
Read moreCredit Connect’s hosted its sixth Online Collections Technology Think Tank 4.1 last week which saw collections strategies and the impact of cost of living economic stresses discussed by thirteen collections professionals from a variety of industry sectors. The themes of collections risk, customer engagement, affordability and the future of collections were discussed by panelists and…
Read moreHere is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for February 2023 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,832.8 billion at the end of December 2022. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,946 and per adult was £34,653, around 105.7% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
Read moreHouseholds expect to need more than £200 extra per month to cover the increase in bills set to take place in April, according to Comparethemarket.com’s latest Money Action Index. The index tracks the proportion of households who are concerned about the rising cost of living and are taking action to get their finances under control. The latest index…
Read moreOfcom has announced that is investigating mobile phone and broadband operators over mid-contract prices. The review will examine whether inflation-linked, mid-contract price rises give phone and broadband customers sufficient certainty and clarity about what they can expect to pay. The telecoms and broadband regulator says it is concerned about the degree of uncertainty consumers face…
Read moreConsumer champion specialist, Which? is calling on telecoms firms to let customers leave without penalty if prices are hiked mid-contract, as new research shows that many broadband customers are trapped in a lose-lose situation where they either have to accept exorbitant mid-contract price increases or pay exit fees of over £200. Many broadband firms –…
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