Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
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…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has publishing measures to strengthen rules to protect struggling prepayment meter (PPM) customers, and address the issue of debt related costs. All energy suppliers signed up to a voluntary Code of Practice earlier this year after alarming evidence surrounding enforced PPM installations came to light. Now, today, the regulator is launching a…
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In a new report published on Government’s energy bills support scheme, the Public Accounts Committee says it took too long to get support to some of those most in need. While support schemes were introduced quickly, the Government did not have the bandwidth to make sure support reached all groups in a timely fashion. In…
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Domestic energy supplier E.ON Next has been ordered by Ofgem to pay £5 million in compensation for poor standards of customer service. Throughout 2022, energy regulator Ofgem conducted a series of Market Compliance Reviews (MCRs), examining energy suppliers’ performance on key areas across the sector in a bid to drive up standards. One of these…
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An estimated 5.5 million people (one in ten adults) were behind on their energy bills in April, an increase of 2.1 million compared to March 2022 according to new research from the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline. The charity’s Under Pressure research, based on an Opinium survey…
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Energy retailers have been urged to simplify the language used in consumer communications after a survey found the majority of customers (76%) are confused by their bill. Consumer group Which?’s research found almost half (48%) of all consumers said they experience a negative emotional response when reading their bills. The research that almost half (47%)…
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Ofwat’s latest cost of living research has revealed that not only that many customers are still struggling financially but also that the percentage of customers aware that financial help is available from water companies has hovered around 30% over the last year. This third wave of cost of living research reveals that the percentage of…
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Energy bills will still be far higher than they were pre-crisis despite Ofgem’s announcement that the energy price cap will fall to £2,074 on 1st July according to the Resolution Foundation analysis. The Foundation notes that falling energy bills are projected to bring inflation down by 2.7 percentage points by July compared to the start…
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Here 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…
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New research by National Energy Action has found that the number of households in fuel poverty is approximately 6.6 million. Energy bills are still approximately almost double the level of October 2021. Just 21 months ago, the typical household paid £1,271 a year, and even with the new price, 2 million extra UK households are in…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has announced its quarterly update to the energy price cap for the period 1st July – 30th September 2023. From 1st July, the energy price cap will be set at an annual level of £2,074 for a dual fuel household paying by direct debit based on typical consumption, which reflects recent falls…
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Three energy suppliers have been made to pay compensation totalling £8 million for failing to supply a final bill on time to more than 100,000 households that had switched provider. Apasrt of the measures energy customers who have been overcharged are to receive a combined total of £2.7 million from two suppliers – Good Energy…
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Water regulator, Ofwat says companies will be fined for failing to hit new customer service targets, under licence changes. The proposals for a dedicated customer licence condition will require water companies to improve communication with customers, fix problems in a timelier manner and provide services to meet diverse consumer needs. The measures have been set…
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