Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New research from the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline, shows 6.8 million (13 percent) UK adults are struggling to pay for their essential costs, such as rent and council tax. Despite inflation falling to 2 percent, an estimated 11.4 million (21 percent) people say their financial situation is…
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Water regulator Ofwat has announce that water bills in England and Wales are set to rise by an average £94 over the next five years. The average bill increase for water and wastewater companies will be £19 a year over five years (£94 in total), excluding inflation. Companies’ business plans proposed increases averaging £144 over…
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Latest figures from Ofgem show energy debt levels have broken records again, now standing at £3.1 billion. The research also showed that 6.1 million households are struggling to pay energy bills as energy arrears continue to break records National Debtline says the lower energy price cap will bring some relief to households but is calling…
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Cornwall Insights has forecasted that the October-December energy cap will drop to £1,723 a year for a typical dual-fuel consumer, a reduction of nearly £40 annually compared with our forecast in May. Cornwall Insights says that despite the drop in the prediction, this cap level would still represent a 10% increase from the £1,568 a year…
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Nearly 11 million households could risk overpaying on their energy bills by a collective £30 million if they delay submitting a meter reading before 1st July, research by Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service, has found. To benefit fully from the new cheaper price cap which comes into effect in July, households on standard variable…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for June 2024 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,850.1 billion at the end of April 2024. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,143 and per adult was £34,487, around 97.0% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending increased by…
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Customer service ratings across the energy industry are among the lowest ever and are showing no signs of improving according to Citizens Advice. The Chrarity, which tracks customer satisfaction levels through its star ratings, claims that the only way to improve the situation is by implementing a consumer duty into Ofgem’s framework of regulatory requirements.…
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Unsecured household debt is set to rise by over £1,600 this year as families continue to struggle with the cost of living crisis, according to new TUC analysis. The analysis shows that unsecured debt (loans, credit cards, purchase hire agreements) is on course to increase by 9.4% (£1,660) in real terms, on average, per household…
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Summer energy bills will fall to their lowest level since the beginning of 2022 as a result of the latest Ofgem price cap for July to September 2024 falling to £1,568. But the legacy of a 60 per cent rise in average energy bills in 2024 compared with three years ago still casts a long…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has confirmed the energy price cap will fall by 7% from 1 July to 30 September 2024, compared to the previous quarter. For an average household paying by direct debit for dual fuel, this equates to £1,568, a drop of £122 over a year. The average household paying by prepayment meter for…
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Despite over half of British homes now having a smart meter, new research from Citizens Advice suggests millions of households are being let down by meter problems suppliers are failing to fix. The charity says new rules are needed to ensure energy suppliers identify and fix problems as quickly as possible. Citizens Advice is particularly…
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Cornwall Insight has announced its final forecast for the July-September Quarter 3 2024 Default Tariff Cap (price cap) indicating that for the typical dual fuel household it predicts that the July price cap will be £1,574.37 per annum. This is a fall of approximately 7% from the current price cap which was set at £1,690…
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New research conducted by YouGov on behalf of StepChange Debt Charity reveals that one in four (24%) adults have recently used a form of credit to pay for essentials such as household costs and groceries. StepChange’s analysis estimates this is the equivalent of 13 million people. Analysis shows among the one quarter (24%) of UK…
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