Debt Management Weekly Round Up

12/03/2010

There's been plenty for families struggling with personal debt situation? Take our Debt Calculator test today!'>personal debt and financial problems to think about this week. Here are just some of the stories that have made the news.

While it's good news for household energy customers – with many of the big power companies announcing cuts to their gas tariffs this week – several financial experts have downplayed the cuts' significance.

Not only do most of the price drops amount to less than £50 a year's savings, they pointed out that the companies are only cutting prices when the weather has improved and the need for large amounts of gas has fallen.

Indeed, research from uSwitch this week discovered that energy customers are in debt to the suppliers to the tune of £728 million.

Other research found that credit card fraud has dropped for the first time since 2006, but that online banking fraud is rising, through phishing and malware scams.

Figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) showed that insurers paid out £650m from 335,000 claims made as a result of damage caused by the wintry weather in the UK. This is likely to lead to increased premiums in 2010 for both motor and building insurance, both of which are a legal requirement.

And finally, smokers got a wake-up call when research published on No Smoking Day this Wednesday pointed out that a 40-a-day habit could be costing them £4,500 a year – money that many of them can ill afford to pay.

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