Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Government has issued a reminder to eligible households encouraged to check they are named on their electricity bill to automatically benefit from the Warm Home Discount this winter. Millions could save £150 on their electricity bills this winter. Every household where the billpayer receives an eligible means-tested benefit will now be in line for…
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Water regulator, Ofwat has announced that Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Black is stepping down at the end of the month. The news follows the Defra announcement that Ofwat is to be transferred into a new, integrated water regulator. Black will be standing down at the end of August with an interim appointment will be…
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The Government has announced that Ofwat will be abolished and will b e replaced by one single water regulator responsible for the entire water system. In a speech at Kingfisher Wharf, the Secretary of State for the Environment, Steve Reed pledged to strengthen regulation, clean up the country’s s rivers and protect the public from…
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The system of regulating water companies needs “a complete overhaul” as the sector hikes customer bills to expand failing infrastructure and tackle pollution, according to a new report by the Government’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC). The report says that the water system has been left to sink for too long, with hikes in customer bills…
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Ofgem has ordered Octopus Energy to pay £1.5 million in refunds and compensation, after an investigation found thousands of errors on prepayment meter bills. An investigation by the energy regulator, has found that ver 34,000 prepayment meter customer accounts with Octopus between 2016 and October 2023 did not receive final bills within six weeks, as…
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Cornwall Insight has forecasted that the energy price cap will fall to £1,698 a year for a typical dual fuel consumer in October. Thi is £22 lower than the July 2025 cap of £1,720 and a slight decrease on the prediction released in May. Although a drop of just 1%, the forecast offers some relief…
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Rising energy prices over the last two decades have squeezed incomes for low-and-middle income families and contributed to a ‘comfort crunch’ as more of their budgets are spent on household essentials, according to new Resolution Foundation research. The report notes that non-housing essentials – food and drink, utility bills, clothing and footwear, childcare, and road,…
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Moving away from the Ofgem fixed price cap and towards a flexible system of energy pricing – where costs vary according to region and time of day – could reduce the price of electricity by 4p/kWh by 2040, offering households savings of £200 a year, on average according to Resolution Foundation research. The research notes…
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The Government has announced that the Warm Home Discount will be expanded, meaning 6 million households will receive £150 off their energy bills this winter. The Government says that this major expansion of support for working families is the latest in a raft of cost of living support made possible because the government has stabilised…
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Energy company Utilita will pay around £277,000 in compensation after failing to pay its Warm Home Discount payments on time, following a review by Ofgem. The regulator found that, in the scheme year covering 2023-2024, Utilita – which supplies 800,000 customers – failed to pass on the mandatory discount to more than 4,000 customers within…
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The Government has announced that more than three-quarters of pensioners will receive the winter fuel payment this year. The change wil mean that around nine million pensioners with an income of, or below, £35,000 a year receiving the benefit. The threshold is well above the income level of pensioners in poverty and is broadly in…
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New research by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust has found that over a third of households (34%) are cutting their use of water instead, with one-in-five (19%) reducing the number of showers or baths they take. The data showed that 24% report their energy bills have increased ‘a lot’ and 29% say their water bills have risen…
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Eight energy suppliers have committed to compensation and debt write off for at least 40,000 consumers who had an involuntary prepayment meter installed for issues including poor data quality and record keeping, and unfair treatment of customers following an Ofgem investigation. The investigation found that suppliers that fell short of required standards when trying to…
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