Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New research from Citizens Advice found that 3.2 million people across Great Britain ran out of credit on their prepayment meter last year because they couldn’t afford to top up. That’s one person every 10 seconds – cut off from their energy supply as the cost-of-living crisis left people struggling to keep the lights on.…
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Improving the energy efficiency of the UK’s buildings will permanently bring down energy bills for households and boost energy independence, say four leading associations. Energy UK, the Local Government Association, the Federation of Master Builders and the National Housing Federation are calling on the Government to continue to prioritise energy efficiency as a core solution…
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Latest forecasts for the Default Tariff Cap (price cap) released by Cornwall Insight, have shown energy bills for a typical household are predicted to be below the government’s Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) from July (Q3 2023) this year. Despite the fall in these forecasts, bills are set to remain significantly above pre-pandemic levels – settling…
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Household bills have surged by £1,316 in the past 12 months, according to new research by Comparethemarket. The research analyses the cost of energy, home, and motor insurance, and reveals bills have increased significantly in the past year. The research found that a typical household spent £3,280 on their energy, car and home insurance in…
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The number of families with children at home who believe they won’t be able to afford their energy bills is set to rise by an additional 27% over the next three months, pushing an additional one in four families into financial struggle, according to Comparethemarket’s latest Household Financial Confidence Tracker. Over a third (36%) of households…
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Utilita Energy has agreed to pay out £830,000 after a robust assessment by regulator Ofgem suggested the supplier was not taking individual circumstances into consideration when deciding whether or not to provide additional support credits needed for customers topping up prepayment meters. The assessment was based on a review of scripts of employees talking to…
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At some point in 2022, 74% of households have avoided turning on the heating despite wanting to. In addition, 55% have turned down the temperature in their home, 50% have reduced the use of their oven and 31% are only heating part of their homes according to new research by abrdn Financial Fairness Trust. The…
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Over three million low-income households have said they have not been able to keep their home warm because they aren’t able to afford it as dangerously cold weather sets in according to new research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). JRF says plummeting temperatures terrify the hundreds of thousands of low-income households who can’t afford…
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The Consumer Council for Water (CCW) has urged that water companies must not add to the worries of households through poor service. CCW has responded to Ofwat’s annual water company performance report which sets out a number of areas where water companies are falling short of the standards customers expect. It highlights a fall in customer satisfaction,…
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New research by Credit Karma has found that nearly one in three (30%) have no money set aside for increased energy costs this winter. The cost of living crisis threatens the Christmases of 11 million people as concerns over energy prices prompt them to cancel or abandon plans. The total gas and electricity used for…
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New research by Ofwat has whown that more customers are struggling with household bills and that two-thirds expect their situation to worsen in the coming year. The research found that in order to try and cope, many are borrowing money from friends and family, taking out loans or getting deeper into debt. Alarmingly, 75% of…
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Latest StepChange debt charity client data from October 2022 shows the cost of living is still the number one driver of debt among new clients, although the proportion of new clients with gas and electricity arrears fell compared to September. Since the start of October, when the government’s energy price guarantee was announced, the proportion of…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for November 2022 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,823.6 billion at the end of September 2022. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,618 and per adult was £34,480, around 107.2% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
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