Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Citizens Advice is calling on the government to introduce an energy social tariff by 2024. The charity believes targeted financial support in the form of a social tariff is the long-term solution to millions of people spending excessive amounts on their bills, both now and during what could be a decade of record prices ahead.…
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Age UK is leading calls for a pre-payment meter (PPM) amnesty amid concerns that forced installations are leading to vulnerable older people ‘self-disconnecting.’ The research shows that well over half a million older households one in four of pre-payment meter customers are now dependent on this form of pricier, pay-as-you-go energy Older households account for…
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Credit 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…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap will be set at an annual level of £3,280 for a dual fuel household paying by direct debit based on typical consumption, a reduction of almost £1,000 from the current level, of £4,279 which reflects recent falls in wholesale energy prices. The cost of universal…
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Here 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…
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Poorer households are hit harder than wealthy households when it comes to rising energy costs according to new research by Interactive Investor. When factored into the other key areas of household expenditure, including food, housing costs (rent or mortgage) and transport, the research calculated that the poorest 10% of households face spending 26% of their…
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More than 900,000 more households across England, Scotland and Wales will benefit from the government’s £400 help with energy bills, as an online application portal opens today (Monday 27th February 2023). Households without a direct relationship to an electricity supplier, such as those living in park homes and care homes, can now apply via a…
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New ONS data on debt and wellbeing has found that more than a fifth of adults in the UK (22%, equal to around 11.5 million people) reported borrowing more money or using more credit than the previous year because of the increased cost of living. Nearly a third (31%) said they would be unable to…
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Ofgem has said that energy firms should start compensating customers whose homes were wrongfully fitted with a PrePayment Meter (PPM), without waiting for the results of a major review The energy regulator has announced the launch of urgent work with stakeholders to look at what further protections may be needed within the rules, regulations and…
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Households with energy prepayment meters in their homes are nearly twice as likely to dip into debt due to the cost of living crisis than others, according to new data. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that 26% of adults who pay for their gas or electricity up front, reported using credit because of…
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Research by Cornwall Insights has predicted that energy bills will rise by an estimated £500 a year despite an expected reduction in Ofgem’s household energy cap. Cornwall Insight predicts the cap for a typical household will be £3,294 equivalent per year meaning that customers will pay about 20% more on their bills, approximately £500, as…
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Households 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…
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Following Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps’ intervention last week, all energy suppliers have now committed to ending the forced installation of prepayment meters in vulnerable customers’ homes. Concerns were raised about the sharp rise in companies seeking warrants to enter people’s homes to forcibly install prepayment meters, Mr Shapps wrote to energy bosses insisting they…
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