Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Consumer Confidence Index from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research has found that confidence among UK consumers has fallen into negative territory for the first time since June 2020. The index fell by 4.2 points in August from 103.0 to 98.8, the largest decline since the early stages of the pandemic.…
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Before further government measures are expected to be announced later today (Thursday 8th September) new data from Comparethemarket has revealed that one in two households (56%) are not confident they will be able to afford energy bills this winter, rising to two-thirds of families (64%) with children at home. Households say, on average, they will…
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The number of people classed as ‘financially vulnerable’ has risen from 2.7% to 4.4% of the population since the start of the pandemic and continues to rise as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies. That’s according to research into 13 million consumer debt profiles conducted by UK leading debt recovery specialist TDX Group, an Equifax company, which…
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Between April and June 2022, the number of households falling behind on their utility bills grew by 14% (295,000), to hit 2.7 million, or one in 10 UK households, according to new figures released by credit reference agency Equifax. On 1st April 2022, Ofgem increased the energy price cap from £1,277 to £1,971. In the…
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Real household disposable incomes are on course to fall by 10 per cent over this year and next – the deepest living standards squeeze in a century, while the number of people living in absolute poverty is set to rise by three million. The report incorporates the Bank of England’s latest economic forecasts, as well…
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Employees will pay an extra £131 a month in energy costs to work from home this autumn, meaning that those who spend less than £30 on their weekly commute could save money by going to their workplace according to new analysis from Uswitch.com. A typical household will run up a £363 monthly bill for gas…
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Ofgem has announced the energy price cap will increase to £3,549 per year for dual fuel for an average household from 1st October 2022. The increase is up 80% from the current cap of £1,971, and up 178% from the £1,277 cap in March this year. The price cap increase comes as Ofgem’s CEO warns…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for August 2022 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,805.7 billion at the end of June 2022. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £64,970 and per adult was £34,140, around 108.4% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
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MoneyPlus Advice, a Manchester-based debt advice firm offering help to people struggling with unmanageable debt says they are seeing startling data for just how much cost of living is influencing debt enquires. Between 2020 and 2022, customers citing ‘cost of living’ as their reason for seeking debt advice, increased by 450%. A sharp increase of…
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New analysis by consultants LCP of detailed data on household spending patterns suggests that many elderly widows and those on pension credit were already at high risk of living in fuel poverty even before the surge in energy bills in recent years. Even if the government comes up with additional help to cover increased bills,…
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New analysis from Citizens Advice has indicated that one in four (24%) people won’t be able to afford to pay their energy bills in October based on current forecasts. This is double the number already in the red ahead of the price cap rise. The figure could jump to one in three(34%) people in January…
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The Government would need to find £12 billion simply to achieve what it was aiming to do with the £24 billion package announced in May according to new analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), funded by the Nuffield Foundation as part of the forthcoming IFS Green Budget. The analysis says that the figures…
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New analysis published by the TUC has shown that energy bills are now expected to cost more than two months of average take-home pay in 2023 – without government intervention. Average take-home pay (after tax) will be £2,054 per month in 2023 based on Bank of England forecasts, so at £4,108, two months’ pay will…
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