Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
As the Government’s £400 energy rebate hits people’s accounts this month, new research from Opinium finds that positively more than four in five (83%) think it will help them financially. However, the research suggests that, for a significant proportion, the rebate may not be quite enough to enable people to be comfortable this Winter as…
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The monthly cost of repaying a mortgage has seen the second largest annual spike, with just energy bills increasing at a greater rate according to research by Revolution Brokers. The research analysed the annual increase in a number of household costs, from energy bills to mortgage payments, water and sewage and food and drink, to…
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Most water companies will be hit by financial penalties because of missed targets, water regulator Ofwat has announced. Overall, for those eleven companies, almost £150m is planned to be taken off customers’ bills in the next financial year because of missed targets on areas such as water supply interruptions, pollution incidents and internal sewer flooding.…
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Almost half a million (450,000 people) could be made to pay their energy bills with a prepayment meter by the end of 2022 because they’ve fallen into debt according to new analysis from Citizens Advice. The charity analysed Ofgem data on the number of customers moved to prepayment meters due to their existing debt to…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for September 2022 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,810.7 billion at the end of July 2022. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,151 and per adult was £34,235, around 107.5% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
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A fifth of households (20%) will only be able to cope with rising bills this winter by cutting back their energy use, according to new research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service. Despite the Government’s energy price guarantee and £400 bill support, energy bills are still set to increase from the 1st October, and…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has published its Market Compliance Review of how energy suppliers help customers in payment difficulties and has found issues ranging from minor through to severe weaknesses, or failings. The research found that, although good practice exists across the industry, with one supplier having no issues, most need to make improvements in processes…
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Water regulator, Ofwat is calling on water companies to trial creative and targeted ways in calculating customers’ charges to help make sure those who need support can get it. In the midst of cost of living concerns, the regulator is pushing companies to think differently about how they work with customers and develop models of…
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Scottish Power and Utilita have been issued a provisional order by Ofgem compelling the energy suppliers to improve how it treats customers in debt. A review conducted by Ofgem into suppliers’ practices found a number of apparent failings around the way it sets debt repayment plans and deals with customers struggling with bills. Provisional Orders…
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Almost two in five households (38%) wrongly believe that the Government’s energy price guarantee means their bills cannot go above £2,500, according to new research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service. The measures announced by Prime Minister Liz Truss will support people with their energy bills, and avoid the nightmare scenario of Ofgem’s price…
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A new report from Citizens Advice lays out the need for a way out of the UK’s energy crisis. Despite the recent bills freeze, it warns that many families will continue to struggle with high energy costs and cold, damp homes because of a lack of investment in basic bill-saving measures like insulation. The research…
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The decision by Liz Truss’s government to support energy spending could make blackouts more likely, according to analysis by the Resolution Foundation The Foundation says Liz Truss’s first major act as Prime Minister has been to set out an energy support package to hugely reduce the scale of the living standards catastrophe this winter by covering…
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New Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced plans that will limit energy bill rises for all households for two years. The measures will mean that a typical household energy bill will be capped at £2,500 annually until 2024, saving households £1,000 a year on the energy price cap announced for October. Commenting on the announcement…
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