Latest Debt News
Up to 6.8 million households in debt to energy suppliers
22/04/2008 09:44:00
An estimated 6.8 million households are in debt to their energy suppliers, according to new research.
Findings from financial comparison service uSwitch.com, revealed that the average debt for each household is £114, which is a figure high enough to prevent consumers from switching to a cheaper supplier as a £100 is the cut off.
Energy prices have risen by around £136 per household since the beginning of the year and the average household energy bill now stands at £1,048.
Ann Robinson, director of consumer policy at uSwitch.com said that that this issue of debt needs to be tackled sooner rather than later.
"As well as the misery and uncertainty that debt can cause, owing money to an energy supplier can prevent consumers from being able to reduce household expenditure by moving to a lower cost energy deal," she stated.
Meanwhile, according to industry regulator Ofgem, two million energy customers are on a prepayment meter set to recover a debt or on an official debt repayment programme scheduled to last longer than 13 weeks.
Previously, the Citizen's Advice Bureau advised that energy debt cases rose by a third.
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