Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Debt charity, StepChange has reported that once again, September saw the cost of living being the most commonly cited reason for debt among new clients, with more than one in five (22%) saying it was a cause of difficulty. The proportion of clients with energy bill arrears also continued to creep up. Among clients with…
Read more
Uswitch is calling on the Government to ensure that prepayment meter customers at risk of self-disconnection are considered the highest priority for additional support beyond April 2023. Uswitch says that the energy crisis has reversed a long-term trend for falling numbers of prepayment meters, putting thousands more households at risk of self-disconnection. From the middle of…
Read more
Ofwat and CCW have asked water company executives to set out how they will support households struggling with affordability, particularly as inflation hits customers who would not be eligible for social tariff or other financial support mechanisms. In a joint letter to water and wastewater company CEOs, David Black, Chief Executive of Ofwat and Emma…
Read more
Gambling treatment and support services need to dovetail better with debt advice, to ensure that recovery pathways for people affected by gambling harm are more likely to succeed, according to a new report by the University of Bristol in conjunction with StepChange Debt Charity, supported by the Gambling Commission. The report finds that gambling is…
Read more
At least one in five working-age families in most UK constituencies would lose out by hundreds of pounds on average if real-terms benefit cuts go ahead, a study Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has found. JRF has used the latest official data to produce a comprehensive analysis of which parliamentary constituencies will be most affected if…
Read more
Six in ten households (63%) who are not confident they will be able to pay their bills in the coming weeks have taken no steps to strengthen their finances according to Comparethemarket’s new Money Action Index. The research shows that almost two-thirds (64%) of households worried about the cost of living have found it difficult to pay…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
Soaring energy, food and fuel prices have forced 1.2 million UK adults (2%) to turn to unscrupulous loan sharks in the last 12 months according to research from the Vulnerability Registration Service. Released during National Stop Loan Sharks Week, the research also revealed that this picture is twice as bad for the most vulnerable in society, with…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more
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…
Read more