The Business and Enterprise Select Committee has said that the current price increases in the gas and electricity market are on the verge of forcing thousands of families into fuel poverty. The group of MP’s also warned that rising energy costs may also be affecting the British economy. A report ,produced by the committee, stated that the soaring energy prices that were causing financial hardship for consumers will also hit many businesses.

Business customers are now having to pay energy prices that far exceed the gas and electricity bills that are being paid by European companies. The report also said that there will be a risk to thousands of jobs if the current trend in energy price increases continued.

The Select Committee also requested that energy watchdog, Ofgem, the UK government and energy providers collectively tackle the problem of energy price hikes. It is unacceptable that so many consumers are suffering from the instability of the energy market.

Comments(0)

Approximately, 4 million homes are expected to be hit by British Gas’ plans to increase its tariffs by an average of 35%. However, the energy provider stated that the increases would not affect the 341,000 customers who are thought to be most at risk from falling into fuel poverty.

Non-profit organisations and charities ,that normally provide advice to individuals and families who are already under financial pressure from the current credit crunch, pointed out that the energy increases could have a devastating effect on consumers. Britons are already finding that their finances are being squeezed by high food and mortgage costs.

British Gas’ announcement follows EDF’s move to increase its gas and electricity bills by an average of 20%. It is expected that the four remaining major energy suppliers - Scottish Power, nPower, Scottish and Southern Energy and E.on will increase their prices in the near future.

Centrica, the parent company of British Gas, also announced that it had made a profit of £992 million for the first half of 2008.

Comments(0)

The increase in the cost of food, petrol and fuel is causing individuals and families to adopt even more financial belt tightening measures. As a result there has been a fall in the amount that is being borrowed in the form of unsecured loans and credit.

The British Bankers Association has revealed that UK consumers only borrowed a total of £0.3 billion in June ,which compares with the £0.4 billion that was spent in May.

Personal borrowing in the form of credit cards and loans shows no sign of increasing in the near future and households are facing serious difficulties if they fail to regulate their daily expenditure. Unfortunately, the credit crunch is altering the financial behaviour of a significant number of households.

A representative of the British Bankers Association stated that people are currently attempting to trim their debts and increase their savings. However, the current economic situation is hampering their best efforts.

Comments(0)

With the UK’s major energy corporations currently imposing significant price rises on electricity and gas bills, industry analysts have predicted that millions of Britons are in danger of succumbing to fuel poverty. The government and debt related agencies have also raised concerns that low-income consumers were paying far too much for their energy bills.

In response to these concerns ,energy watchdog ,Ofgem has put in place a set of guidelines that will encourage power providers to offer social tariffs to those consumers who are most at risk from falling into fuel debt.

A spokesman for Ofgem stated that ,previously, online tariffs had cost less than social tariffs but the introduction of these new guidelines would ensure that those individuals and families that are most likely to fall into fuel poverty will receive the best available discounted deals.

By using the SaveOnBills comparison service you will find the energy deals that are best suited to your needs.

Comments(0)

The Land Registry has reported that house prices have fallen for ten consecutive months. The government organisation also found that ,on average, house prices had risen by only 0.1% during the previous 12 months.

The average house price is now said to be £180,780. The value of the average property in central London is now £345,135, which represents a fall of 2.5%.

Some experts registered concerns about the London property market as it is usually viewed as a good indicator of national trends.

There were some signs of stability in the housing market in the North East region as house prices increased by over 4%. Further data released from the Land Registry revealed that there was a significant drop in UK property sales in April with sales falling to 60,000 from over 95,000

Industry analysts continue to believe that the housing sector is still in a dire situation, despite the fact that some major lenders had cut their mortgage rates

Comments(0)

With consumers facing increasing financial pressure from the current economic situation The Financial Services Association ( FSA ) is continuing to step up its fight against improper financial practices.

As a show of intent the FSA has imposed a massive £735,000 financial penalty on an insurance broker that the financial watchdog found had treated its customers unfairly.

Hasting Insurance was said to have cancelled over 4,500 insurance deals after a series of in-house errors had meant that the broker had issued inaccurate quotes. It was reported that the broker was attempting to remedy the fact that its customers were not paying enough. However, the FSA ruled that Hastings should have sought other alternatives to the drastic measures which resulted in the cancellation of its customer’s policies.

The FSA said that the insurance broker was not overly concerned with the interests of its customer but chose to focus on its own needs.

It was reported that the FSA could have forced Hastings to pay a financial penalty of £1 million, but Hastings agreement to an early settlement resulted in a reduced fine.

Comments(0)

One of Britain’s largest energy providers ,EDF Energy, has said that it will increase the cost of its gas and electricity bills by 22% and 17% respectively. Industry experts had already predicted that huge increases are on the way, with some analysts saying that they expected to see energy bills soar to 70% above current prices in the next few years.

The price hike will be unwelcome news for the power provider’s five million customers. It has been estimated that anyone who purchases both gas and electricity from EDF can expect to have an average of £200 added to their annual energy bill.

EDF may find it difficult to defend critics of the current increases, as the price of oil has fallen by over 12% in recent weeks. However, EDF stated that it had to take this course of action because wholesale energy prices had risen by around 70% since the start of the year.

Comments(0)

The Yorkshire Building Society has conducted research which has revealed that the average person in the UK only has enough money to last them around 52 says if they fall into unemployment. The survey also showed that over 30% of those polled said that they would only have enough savings to last 11 days.

Approximately, 17% of respondents said that long term illness may result in either themselves or their partner being unfit for work in the future.

A building society spokesperson said that ,unfortunately, the research has revealed that consumers are trying to deal with the UK’s bleak economic situation, without having sufficient insurance cover. To make matters worse, economic experts are predicting that the UK will continue its apparent slide into a recession.

Consumers are advised to think seriously about obtaining employment payment protection insurance as this would help them to avoid the accumulation of serious financial debt.

Comments(0)

With the cost of food and energy set to hit new highs, credit card expenditure is also expected to soar. Apacs, the UK payment Association, has reported that the UK now owes a total of £54 billion on credit cards. The findings strongly indicate that the nation is becoming increasingly reliant on this form of payment for the purchase of everyday products and services.

Britain’s current dependence on credit cards has meant that debt has surged, which inevitably increases the financial burdens that are being placed on individuals and families.

The credit card sector, itself , has become embroiled in the fight against debt. Industry analysts have predicted that credit firms can expect to reclaim around 80% of what is currently owed on cards. Obviously, the remaining 20% will not be repaid which will result in these customers being lumbered with a bad credit rating.

Since there is an increase in the amount of consumers who are unlikely to pay back all the money they have borrowed against their cards, lenders are now seeking to obtain more funds from other customers by hiking up interest rates.

Comments(0)

The UK’s minister for Energy, Malcolm Wicks, has called on electricity and gas companies to cut the tariffs on energy meters. The minister stated that a large proportion of these charges were unfair, as customers who use these metres have to pay more than other energy consumers. It is estimated that there are over 4 million homeowners who pay for their energy in this manner.

The energy minister said that he will formally request that industry regulator, Ofgem, prepare a report on the impact of pre-payment meter charges. He indicated that the government may introduce legislation if Ofgem concludes that current pre-payment meter charges are unsatisfactory. Additionally, the minister said that it is unjust for those who pay by meter to be charged more than others.

In their defence, energy firms argued that electricity and gas meter customers have to pay higher rates because of installation and service costs. The power companies also stated that they have already reduced tariffs by significant amounts.

Industry experts predict that energy price rises will push over 2 million people into fuel poverty by 2010

Comments(0)