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Severn Trent profits plunge due to fines

The profits of water giant Severn Trent have plunged because of the hefty fines that have been imposed by the water regulator Ofwat. The water company serves three million households in the Midlands region, but has found itself enveloped in disgrace and controversy recently, resulting in fines from Ofwat. In fact, to the end of the last financial year profits had reportedly plunged by 40%, sinking to just £195 million. Read more

Will government’s fuel poverty assistance really help?

With the cost of energy usage already having gone up, and with expectations of further price hikes in the autumn, the government has been taking measures to try and reduce the risk of fuel poverty for the more vulnerable, which includes reforming data protection laws so that consumers can be contacted directly and offered help should the need arise. Other moves that the government has planned to try and reduce fuel poverty include providing assistance for consumers to ensure that their homes are energy efficient and to make sure that they are with the most suitable and affordable provider. Read more

Water services’ complaints on the rise

According to a recent report the level of complaints relating to water services has been rising significantly over the 2006/2007 financial years, with a rise of 30% from the previous financial year. Figures come from the water watchdog for England and Wales, which shows that over 240,000 complaints were made in the 2006/2007 financial year, with the majority from customers of Thames Water, United Utilities and Severn Trent. Around 50% of the complaints are said to be about charging and billing issues. Read more

More consumers switching energy suppliers

According to recent reports from the energy regulator Ofgem an increasing number of people in the UK are now switching energy suppliers in a bid to enjoy better service and lower prices. According to the industry regulator the first seven months of this year saw around 2.8 million consumers switching their electricity supplier and around 2.3 million consumers switching their gas supplier. However, Ofgem also stated that there are many other consumers that are failing to switch and are therefore missing out on big savings. Read more

Rising energy prices lead to investigation

The rising cost of gas and electricity usage in the UK has led to an official investigation being launched by the energy regulator, Ofgem, in order to find out whether anti-competitive practices are being used by energy giants. Earlier this year the major energy suppliers hiked up the cost of gas and electricity usage significantly, stating that the rising cost of wholesale energy meant that they had to raise their prices. The move is likely to send many more households into fuel poverty. Read more

Enquiry into soaring gas and electricity bills launched

An enquiry has been launched by the energy regulator Ofgem into soaring gas and electricity prices in the UK, which have rocketed at the beginning of this year forcing an increasing number of households into fuel poverty. The government has also issued a warning to energy giants stating that it will be cracking down on any market abuse that is designed to boost profits. Business Secretary John Hutton said that action would be taken if anti-competitive practices were being used. Read more

Scottish and Southern raises prices

Earlier this year, when the other five major energy suppliers hikes up their energy usage prices, Scottish and Southern Energy promised that it would keep prices on hold until the end of March. Although the firm lived up to its promise that time has now come around, and the last of the six major energy suppliers in the UK has now announced that it will be increasing its gas and electricity usage costs from April. Read more

Fuel poverty targets likely to be missed

According to a recent report fuel poverty targets set by the government are likely to be missed as a result of recent hikes in energy prices coupled with the government’s own policies. The prediction comes from the government’s own advisers on the Fuel Poverty Advisory Group. Around 2.3 million households are already thought to be in fuel poverty following the recent price hikes, where they are paying out over 10% of their income on fuel bills. Read more

Dual fuel not necessarily the best option

In the past many consumers in the UK have taken both their gas and electricity from the same suppliers, and this is because this was often the cheapest option, with many energy giants offering big discounts to consumers that take both gas and electricity from them, known as dual fuel. However, according to recent reports from price comparison services this may no longer be the cheapest option for consumers, and many consumers may find that going through different suppliers for gas and electricity is the most cost effective option. Read more

Energy suppliers need to act to help the more vulnerable

The UK’s major energy suppliers have been warned that they need to do more to help those on low incomes and the more vulnerable when it comes to energy price affordability. This is the warning that came from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, in his recent first budget. Darling has expressed concern over the affordability of energy prices for poorer and more vulnerable consumers, and has said that energy forms must do something to address this issue. Read more

Water bills to rise in April

Consumer across England and Wales are to see their water bills rise by 5.8% from April according to a recent report. Figures suggest that the average 5.8% rise will equate to around £18 per year more for the average household, and although this does not seem a lot it is simply another increased bill for many households that are already struggling to keep on top of rising repayment. Read more

Energy firms could be forced to help poorer consumers

In his first budget the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has stated that he wants energy firms in the UK to do more to help poorer consumers that struggle to pay their bills, and has said that if the energy firms do not act voluntarily he will take action to force them to help more vulnerable consumers. Darling wants to get a better deal for customers that pay their gas and electricity through pre-paid meters, and wants utility firms to triple funding for their poorest customers. Read more

Ofgem launches energy firm investigation

The UK’s energy regulator Ofgem has recently announced that it is investigating competition issues amongst the UK’s major energy suppliers following worries about how much residential customers parti poker netpoker regeln holdfive card draw pokerparty poker bonus,party poker 50 bonus,bonus bei party pokerpoker um geld spielensichere online spielepoker anleitung texas holdempoker no deposit bonusparty poker downloadmultiplayer championship poker texas holdempoker software gratisomaha poker rulesonline spielenpoker texaspoker kostenlosplay omaha pokerpoker stars bonus code7 card stud downloadfull tilt poker bonustexas holdem poker handsregeln zu pokerplay omaha poker onlinetexas holdem ohne anmeldungonline poker für macgratis poker gamespoker spiel downloadentexas holdem wahrscheinlichkeitpoker java gamewww poker spielenpoker taxas holdempoker signup bonuspokerstars bonusparty poker net cheatsholdem poker pc gamewo kann man poker spielenonline poker detexas holdem poker downloadmultiplayer championship poker holdemtexas holdem no limit regelnparty poker 75draw poker onlinevincere poker onlinesoftware cartepoker texano on linestip poker gratisil poker onlinestrategie texas holdemfull tilt pokerpoker roompoker texas holdem,tornei poker texas holdem,regolamento poker texas holdem and small business are having to pay for their energy. At the start of this year the major suppliers all announced pretty hefty energy usage price hikes, yet a number of them have also reported soaring profits for last year, which has angered campaigners and consumers.
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Water bill increases add to financial burden

At a time when many households are facing financial woes as a result of high mortgage repayments, high living costs, and increased energy bills, many are set to receive another blow over the coming days in relation to their water bills. Water companies are now sending out statements and bills to customers regarding water charges for the coming year, and in some areas water customers will be facing steep rises, which will simply add to the financial burden. Read more

Fewer households switching their energy suppliers

A recent report has shown that fewer households are now switching their energy suppliers, and for many this is working out to be very costly. Some consumers in the UK are stuck on price fix tariffs, where the cost of their energy usage was fixed when prices were at their highest last year. The first half of this year saw the number of households that were switching their energy suppliers fall by 1.5 million according to figures, falling from 7.5 million to 6 million. Read more

Profits rocket for British Gas

British Gas is one of the major energy suppliers that have hiked up the cost of energy over the past few weeks, claiming that the rising cost of wholesale energy means that in order to make a profit it has to raise the cost of energy usage. This has left many households facing fuel poverty, as average household energy bills rocket to around £1000 a year. Read more

Gas bills could be on the rise again

According to recent reports households in the UK could be facing steep rises in their bills just months after gas usage costs were slashed as a result of reductions in the cost of wholesale energy. The rise in gas bills stems from financial demands made to energy suppliers by the companies that run, repair, and maintain gas main networks in the UK, including National Grid. The row that has emerged by these demands, involving the gas companies, energy suppliers, and even the UK’s energy regulator Ofgem, could see a major review of the energy industry being performed by competition regulators. Read more

New billing system from Thames Water

A new billing system has been brought in by Thames Water, which will see customers paying for water based on the size of the property that they live in. Under the new system the cost of water bills will be determined by the size of the home, and this will affect thousands of water customers that are not on water meters. The new billing system will only affect those that had requested water systems but were unable to have one fitted for practical reasons. Read more

Multi million pound fine for Southern Water

According to a recent report Southern Water has been fined millions of pounds by the water regulator Ofwat as a result of provision of poor service and failure to provide accurate information. The water giant was accused of mis-representing information to the water authorities and providing poor service. The £20 million fine will be passed on to shareholders and not to customers according to officials from Ofwat. Read more

Water bills could rise by up to 9%

According to a recent report water companies will be able to increase the cost of water bills by up to 9% next month, with the average customer likely to see their bills rise by around 5.8%. This means that the average household will see bills rise by an annual £18 a year to around £330 from April. Customers of some water companies across England and Wales, such as Yorkshire Water and United Utilities, will see their bills rise by an above average rise of 7.5%. Read more

Investigation into energy firms begins

An investigation into whether there are competition issues amongst the UK’s major energy suppliers has now been launched by the energy regulator Ofgem. The regulator is looking into the gas and electricity markets that supply to both residential properties and to small businesses. This comes after concerns were raised by watchdogs and campaigners over how effective the market is and how much consumers and businesses are having to pay for their energy. Read more

Further anger over energy firms’ profits

Just days after British Gas delivered its customers with a slap in the face, announcing that profits had increased five fold since last year, whilst consumers were struggling to pay rising energy bills, another energy giant Npower has also delivered news of soaring profits, leaving even more customers seething over the fact that whilst they are risking being pushed into fuel poverty the energy firm bosses are sitting pretty with huge bonuses on the way. Read more

Scottish power energy prices rise

Following in the footsteps of several of the other major energy suppliers in the UK Scottish Energy recently announced that it would be raising its energy usage costs as a result of increased wholesale energy prices. Scottish Power made the announcement about its price hikes after similar announcements by other energy giants, including EDF Energy, NPower, and British Gas. Scottish Power is raising its prices by 15% for gas usage and 14% for electricity. Read more

Man receives gas bill for £11 million

A landlord from Dorset in the UK was shocked recently after he received a gas bill from British Gas – asking for £11 million. The man, Denis Dixon, owns just a two bedroom rental flat in Dorset, and realized that the bill was, of course, a mistake. However, he said he was stunned to have received the bill, particularly considering that he had already settled his £500 quarterly bill. Read more

British Gas reports huge profits

Over recent weeks cash-strapped consumers in the UK have been hit even harder after the major energy suppliers in the UK decided to increase their prices on gas and electricity usage, stating that the rise was necessary because of increases in the cost of wholesale energy. Average households are now paying around £1000 a year for their energy usage, and many are in danger of being pushed into fuel poverty as a result of these price hikes. The new about rising energy costs came at around the same time as the interest rate cut in December. Read more

Surge in water bill complaints during last financial year

The last financial year saw the number of water bill related complaints surge in the UK according to recent reports. Billing complaints have surged with many utilities from energy companies and Internet providers to phone providers – and water companies have not escaped this trend, with certain water providers pushing up the total number of complaints. Figures show that the number of complaints made to the official watchdog were at their highest in thirteen years during the last financial year. Read more

Energy suppliers need to take complaints more seriously

Officials from the consumer campaign group Energywatch have stated that energy suppliers in the UK are taking far too long to deal with customer complaints, adding that it was taking some of the energy giants over seven months to deal with some complaints, which had resulted in customers dissatisfaction levels rocketing to 97%. Energy companies are now being urged to take customers complaints more seriously and get these issues dealt with more efficiently and quickly. Read more

E.On firm raises prices

Just after the Bank of England announced the latest interest rate cut last week another of the UK’s energy giants announced that it was hiking up the cost of gas and electricity usage, which means that many homeowners that may have seen their payments reduced by the 0.25% interest rate cut will not also see their cost of their energy usage rise, counteracting the benefit that they receive from lower repayments. E.On is the latest of the energy giants to announce rises, which price hikes already having been put in place by British Gas, Npower, EDF and Scottish Power. Read more

Thames Water brings in new billing system

Under a new billing system that has been brought in by Thames Water the amount that consumers will have to pay for their water will be determined by the size of their home. The move will affect thousands of homeowner that have no water meter, and each will be placed into a banding system in order to determine how much they will pay for their water based on the size of their property. Read more

Enquiry launched into energy industry

An enquiry is being launched into the competition levels amongst the UK’s energy giants, with a committee of MPs looking into whether consumers across the UK are paying too much for their gas and electricity usage. The Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (Berr) select committee will be investigating whether there is enough competition amongst the major suppliers – a move that comes after four of the UK’s leading energy suppliers announced dramatic hikes in the costs of gas and electricity usage. Read more

British Gas bill blunders continue

Over recent months British Gas, one of the UK’s leading energy giants, has seen a flood of complaints arise over billing problems, with many customers expressing anger at various blunders and bad practices suffered at the hands of British Gas. A recent report has further highlighted the extent of the billing blunders made by British Gas, as it was revealed that one consumer was hounded for nine years over money that was supposedly owed to British Gas – the customer was not even being supplied by British Gas. Read more

Energy price hike from Scottish Power

Another of the UK’s leading energy suppliers has announced hikes in its gas and electricity usage costs. Scottish Power is the latest of the energy suppliers to announce price rises, Npower, British Gas, and EDF Energy have all already raised prices following increases in the cost of wholesale energy. Scottish Power is raising its prices by 15% for gas usage and 14% for electricity. The energy supplier has over five million customers, and like the other energy firms has blamed the need to raise prices on rising wholesale costs. Read more

Another energy company hikes up prices

Just as a specialist committee has launched an investigation into the price hikes applied by energy companies in the UK another of the UK’s energy giants has announced that its prices will be going in a matter of days, joining the other big 4 that have already announced significant hikes in the cost of gas and electricity usage. Like the other energy firms that have already hiked up prices, E.On has blamed the need to raise prices on increases in wholesale energy prices.<!–more–>

E.On will be raising prices on gas usage by 15% and the cost of electricity usage will go up by 9.7%. The company, which was formerly known as Powergen, has said that whilst the new pricing comes into effect on 8th February, around 670,000 customers classed as vulnerable would not have to pay the new prices until April. E.On is the latest of the energy giants to announce hikes, and price rises have already been announced by British Gas, Npower, EDF and Scottish Power.

An official from E.On stated: “We realise the impact this price increase will have on our customers and we’re doing everything we can to minimise this. Our announcement has been made in response to sustained pressures from the wholesale market. We are offering a new product to allow more customers to join the half a million already benefiting from protected prices, while also helping those customers who are most in need.”

In the meantime a committee of MPs in investigating whether consumers are paying too much for energy in the UK, with one committee official stating: “The continuing controversy over energy prices is an issue that demands to be addressed. It is a complex but vital question and one that affects everyone in the country, individual consumers and households, small businesses and major energy users alike.”

Complaints to be taken more seriously by energy suppliers

Energy suppliers across the UK are being warned that they need to take customer complaints more seriously, with the consumer watchdog Energywatch claiming that it takes the UK’s energy suppliers too long to deal with a customer complaint. The consumer body also added that it took energy firms an average of seven months to resolve some issues, and that this was resulting in dissatisfaction levels rocketing to 97%.

Energywatch has now appealed to the energy regulator Ofgem to make the suppliers meet certain basic standards. Energywatch recently carried out a survey of 1100 people who had contacted its helpline last year. The results showed that in the vast majority of cases suppliers had failed to meet standards and had failed to deliver, leaving the customer feeling let down and dissatisfied.

One Energywatch official stated: “Everything is designed to put consumers off. When consumers have a problem they need to be able to make effective complaints and get the problem sorted out.” Officials from Energywatch have acknowledged that some progress has been made with the issue but state that there is still a lot to be done in order to convince consumers that their complaints and problems would be resolved quickly.

The Energy Retail Association said that it was not surprised that most of the consumers that called Energwatch were not happy with their supplier. However, officials from the ERA said: “A more significant statistic is the 70% drop in complaints Energywatch has recorded over the past five years in all areas, including doorstep sales, switching and billing.”

Officials added: “The industry has already established the Energy Supply Ombudsman scheme, a billing code, a code of practice for doorstep sales and a set of principles on complaint handling to which all suppliers subscribe.”

Various energy providers now hiked up the interest rates

The news that energy companies across the UK were planning to raise the cost of energy usage came as a blow to consumers, as this meant further financial strain on household finances. The announcement from energy companies came late last year just as consumers though that they would see a reduction in their outgoing because of the December cut in the base interest rate. Read more

Npower pulled up over increased customer cut-offs

Energy giant Npower has been warned by regulators that it has to do more to help customers that are struggling to pay their gas and electricity bills after it was found to be top of the tables when it came to customer cut offs. According to figures Npower was cutting off around 70 in every 100,000 customers in 2006. Second on the tables was EDF Energy, but Npower was still cutting off double the number of people than the firm that came in at second place. Read more

Nearly 90% of consumers feel ripped off by energy providers

According to a recent report nearly 90% of consumers with the nation’s largest energy suppliers in the UK feel ripped off as a result of energy prices. However, despite the complaints about energy suppliers the UK’s energy regulator Ofgem has stated that it will not be taking the big six energy suppliers to competition authorities over their pricing. Some of the major energy suppliers have already hiked up prices on gas and electricity usage, including British Gas, EDF Energy, and Npower. Read more

Chancellor to look into energy price hikes

Homeowners across the UK received another blow recently, after finding out that no sooner had the interest rate been cut from 5.75% to 5.5%, easing financial difficulties for those with sky high mortgage repayments, the UK’s energy suppliers announced that they would be raising the cost of gas and electricity usage. Read more

Ofgem won’t act over claims of energy supplier rip off scams

According to a recent report nine out of every ten energy supplier customers with the UK’s biggest energy suppliers feels ripped off over energy charged, but despite these complaints the energy regulator Ofgem has stated that it has no plans to refer the ‘big six’ energy firms to competition authorities. Reports claim that Ofgem is not concerned over competition amongst the energy suppliers, despite the price hikes that are expected from energy suppliers over the coming weeks. Read more

Energy prices on the up again

Just as the Bank of England cut the interest rate, enabling homeowners in the UK to breathe a sigh of relief, energy companies knocked consumers back down by announcing that they would be putting up the cost of energy usage again early in the New Year, and as promised one energy supplier, Npower, has already done this, with the other major suppliers expected to follow suit in the coming weeks. Read more

Darling hits on energy price rises

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has become involved in the energy price rises being enforced by energy suppliers in the UK. Over the past year energy prices have been coming down following a fall in wholesale energy prices, and this followed a period of very high charges on gas and electricity usage in the UK, pushing many households into fuel poverty. Read more

Energy prices could be going up again

After having to deal with sky high energy usage costs in 2005 and 2006, many household in the UK were relieved to see their household energy bills come down earlier this year. A reduction in the cost of wholesale energy prices enables the UK’s major energy suppliers to slash their energy usage costs, saving households a small fortune in some cases, which came as a relief to many in light of the soaring interest rates costs. Read more

Energy customers may be paying over the odds

According to a recent report energy customers across the UK could be paying way over the odds for their energy usage simply because suppliers keep special, lower cost deals hush hush, which means that the consumer ends up paying more than they actually need to.

The report claims that consumers may be paying out over £2.5 billion a year more than they need to because energy companies are failing to properly promote their cheaper, better deals. Read more

UK to be hit with rising energy bills

A recent report has indicated that the start of the New Year could see many households in the UK facing huge hikes in their energy usage costs, with higher oil prices and increased wholesale energy costs forcing major suppliers in the UK to push up their energy costs.

Earlier this year many households were relieved to find that the cost of their energy usage had been slashed as the result of reductions in wholesale energy prices. This followed two years of hardship for many households that had been pushed into fuel poverty because of the high cost of energy usage. Read more

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