Fuel poverty could affect a quarter of households
October 20, 2008
According to a recent report fuel poverty could be affecting a quarter of households in the UK by the end of next year, with huge hikes in energy prices over the course of this year resulting in an increase in the number of households that are paying 10% or more of their total household income towards energy bills. Energy giants have already hiked up their energy costs twice this year, resulting in added financial strain for already struggling households. Read more
A quarter of the nation could face fuel poverty
October 18, 2008
Energy prices have been at the centre of heated controversy over the course of this year. At the start of the year the big energy firms in the UK cheerfully announced that because the price of wholesale energy had risen the cost of energy usage for customers would be going up, and just weeks later, true to their word, they increased energy usage costs quite significantly, leaving already struggling household to cope with more financial worry and strain. Read more
Rising Energy Costs Could Be Disastrous For Households
October 17, 2008
With the rising costs of gas and oil, millions of households in the UK could find themselves in critical financial difficulty in the coming months. This is the warning of an MP committee in light of the fact that the energy costs faced by many manufacturing companies in the UK are substantially higher than in the rest of Europe. Read more
Saving money on energy bills
October 15, 2008
Over recent months the cost of heating has soared, and this is the result of energy companies hiking up the cost of energy usage twice since the start of this year. Households, many of which are already cash-strapped, have found that they can barely afford to make ends meet as a result of the various rises in bills and living costs. All of the major energy firms have now increased the cost of energy usage, and this move is set to plunge many people into fuel poverty. Read more
Equity being used by older people in debt
October 14, 2008
According to a recent report a rising number of older homeowners are using the equity in their homes in order to pay off debts. Officials are concerned that this increasing trend is leaving more and more people without any means to support themselves in their retirement. The equity release programme has traditionally been targeted towards retired homeowners that want to create income from the equity in their homes, but this is now moving to a younger age group. Read more
Energy prices continue to put strain on finances
October 13, 2008
Over recent months being in charge of the household finances has become an unenviable task, as most households have found that their budgets have been overstretched, making it very difficult to make ends meet. A number of factors have contributed to these financial difficulties, such as rising borrowing costs, tighter credit conditions, soaring petrol prices, rocketing food prices, and increasing bills. And, as has been the case quite often over the past few years, it is energy bills that are causing major problems when it comes to most household budgets. Read more
Abbey said it shredded customer’s documents
October 13, 2008
The Abbey has made another blunder – one in a long line of mistakes, which include giving out a deceased accountholder’s money to the wrong recipients, and sending out a condolence letter to a woman whose husband they though had died, even though he was alive and well. In the latest blunder the bank incorrectly made a credit card applicant send personal details in the post, through that they had returned them but had actually lost them, and finally admitted that they had probably been shredded. Read more
MPs state loss of personal data should be classed as an offence
October 12, 2008
Instances of data loss and security breaches by banks, financial institutions and even government agencies have been at the forefront of the financial headlines over recent months, with one of the most major instances of sensitive data loss resulting from the loss of two discs containing the banks details of 25 million customers, which was lost by HM Revenue and Customs last year. There have also been a number of other sensitive data loss incidents involving banks, the Department of Work and Pensions, the DVLA, and other agencies. Read more
IVAs could become more transparent and simpler
October 11, 2008
The IVA process could become more transparent and simpler for consumers in high levels of debt, and this is as the result of a new protocol that has been drawn up by the Insolvency Service with the help of debt agencies, consumers groups, and creditors. IVAs, or Individual Voluntary Arrangements, have become more popular over the past couple of years, as glossy advertisements on television and radio have raised consumer awareness about this method of debt management. Read more
Water firms receive record numbers of complaints
October 10, 2008
According to a recent report water firms have been receiving record numbers of complaints over the past twelve months. The data comes from the water watchdog, the Consumer Council for Water. Figures show that in the financial year to April around 273,000 complaints were made about water companies. This was an increase of 11% compared to the previous financial year. Read more