Price cap. Safeguard tariff. Default tariff. Energy price announcements fluttered down like the leaves. Government published a draft bill (1) it says “would see rip-off energy prices capped for millions of households”. Citizens Advice said the bill was “an important step towards an energy market that works better for consumers” (2). Ofgem, the energy regulator, has […]
Financial risk affects 25m people. Large scale research by the Financial Conduct Authority* shows why Citizens Advice is asked to help so many with debt and other money worries. Potentially vulnerable covers “those who may be less able to engage with their finances or with financial services. The reasons for this can vary from low financial resilience to suffering […]
How tenants’ homes set back their prospects. ‘Precarity’ is an ugly name for a bad place to find your life in. But one used to telling effect in a newspaper column* from Generation Rent Homeowners enjoy security….. renters face precarity. Just three statistics quoted are enough to explain: In 2015 homeowners with a mortgage paid 20% of average income on housing costs. Private renters paid 43%. In 2015-16 over […]
Government wants action. In its clearest statement yet, the government has told regulator Ofgem to act to stop £1.4bn of excessive annual charges. The business secretary told the Financial Times* the overcharging of customers on standard variable tariffs was “completely unacceptable”. And a cross-party group of almost 200 MPs reminded the prime minister of her promise “to cut energy bills for 17m customers”. Meanwhile […]
Spending on housing benefit has risen from £16.6bn to £25.1bn over the last 20 years (1). The average family spent 6% of their income on housing in the 1960s: now it’s 18% (2). Yet more research showing why we urgently need a new policy. Two new studies make current policy seem terrible value for money. And it would be worse if you could factor in the cost of social […]
‘A disaster waiting to happen.‘ That’s the conclusion of new analysis of over 50,000 cases where Citizens Advice helped people with debt problems. The unhappy truth is that UC is actually pushing people further into debt. Citizens Advice research with UC clients and a survey of advisers shows the main issues causing or making worse claimants’ debt problems: the […]
Reforming a funny business to keep prices as low as possible. The energy department (1) has asked Professor Dieter Helm to carry out a review of the costs of energy and recommend ways of keeping prices as low as possible. The review will seek “to sort out the facts from the myths about the costs of […]
Call to protect vulnerable AND loyal customers. Citizens Advice is calling for change in energy price policy. In spite of a fall in wholesale costs this week’s British Gas price rise is just one more illustration that the energy supply market isn’t working. In this market it’s not surprising that CA and others have focused on the problems of vulnerable customers. It’s true the government and companies have […]
New protocol launched by Citizens Advice and local authorities. The number of householders falling behind with council tax payments has risen to a worrying level. Helping them get back on track is in everyone’s interests. Which is why Citizens Advice and the Local Government Association have jointly launched a new Council Tax Protocol. By setting out good practice at each […]
‘Time-bomb’ or ‘So far so good’? Whichever, independent guidance and support must be available. In May the mortgage industry announced* that 1.9m interest-only mortgages were outstanding at end 2016. This was a fifth of all mortgages and a big reduction on 2012 when the number was 3.2m, “equivalent to a third of total residential mortgage stock”. This week Mail Online used** the same […]