http://www.payplan.com/debt-news Debt News from Payplan: Debt News, Debt Advice and Debt Help from Payplan, the Free Debt Management Company Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:58:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Energy Consumer Debt Hits £132 Energy consumers in debt to their suppliers now owe on average £132 - 5% more than last year, according to a study conducted by uSwitch. Research shows that, of those in debt, 41% now owe more than they did this time last year while 17% said they ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/03/11/consumer-debt-averages-132-for-energy-bills/ Cheaper Gas and Electricity Bills from Top Providers This winter Britain has seen the coldest weather for over thirty years and as a result, energy consumption has soared as people struggle to keep warm. With the recent fall in wholesale gas and electricity and fears raised over the current cost of energy, ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/03/10/leading-energy-suppliers-cut-monthly-bills/ Increase in VAT Rate Leads to Record CPI Growth? The Office for National Statistics (ONS) yesterday released records of the highest Consumer Price Index (CPI) annual inflation rate for over a year. The ONS revealed that the UK CPI annual Inflation rate increased to 3.5% in January 2010, a 0.6% rise from ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/02/17/growth-in-inflation-due-to-vat-rate-returned-to-175/ Greater Protection Given to Those Who May Lose Their Homes A recent consultation by The Ministry of Justice is considering setting a minimum amount of debt before a court can order the sale of a debtor's home. People who face losing their homes because of debts on credit cards or loans could ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/02/09/increased-protection-for-debtors-from-charging-orders/ Calls to debt helpline indicate recession is far from over Following today’s publication of the insolvency figures for quarter four of 2009, Payplan, the free debt solutions service, has revealed that calls to its debt helpline totalled over sixteen thousand in January alone. John Fairhurst, managing director at Payplan, said: “Although official figures ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/02/05/debt-help-sought-by-over-sixteen-thousand-in-january/ House Prices Set to Return 2007 Levels Recent predictions made by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) suggest that the average house price is expected to climb by 6.5% to £178,000 in 2010. The CEBR also believes that 2012 prices will return to those previously recorded in 2007, with a ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/02/02/house-prices-see-rapid-increase/ GPD Growth Shows End of UK Recession Figures released by the Office for National Statistics today showed that the economy had grown by 0.1% in the last three months of 2009, marking the end of the UK recession. Figures show the Gross Domestic Product (GPD) increased 0.1% in the fourth quarter of ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/01/26/end-of-recession-for-uk-economy/ Britons Waste £13bn a Year on Unused Texts and Calls New research supplied by moneysupermarket.com reveals that the average adult wastes almost half (45%) of their mobile tariff's minutes and text allowance each month. Staggeringly, many mobile phone users could potentially save £250 a year on their mobile phone bills. The research ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/01/25/could-you-save-250-a-year-on-your-mobile-phone-bill/ 1 Million People Pay Mortgage With Credit Card Research conducted by housing charity Shelter found more than 1 million householders have resorted to credit cards in a bid to pay their mortgage during the last twelve months. The survey highlighted 6% of those who were liable for paying their rent or mortgage ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/01/15/warning-over-credit-card-use-to-pay-mortgage/ House Prices Rise 5.9% in 2009 Figures released this week by Nationwide recorded a rise in house prices from 2.7% in 2008 to 5.9% by the end of 2009. Housing Transactions Up As house purchase transactions fell by 65% between January 2007 and November 2008, interest rates hit record lows. As a result, ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/01/08/house-prices-rise-eight-months-in-a-row/ Get Help With Energy Bills In 2010 As the snow, ice and cold weather continues to cause havoc this week, people could be feeling financial strain when their next energy bills come through the post, as the UK uses more gas and electricity than usual in the struggle to keep warm. According ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/01/07/help-with-energy-bills/ The next time you visit your local supermarket, be aware that your store has been carefully laid out to extract as many pounds and pennies from you as possible, quite literally at every turn. So, to save money on one of your most expensive weekly costs, you've got to become a ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/01/06/smart-supermarket-shoppers-save-money/ If you're struggling to manage your bills at the beginning of what could be a tough year for many, understanding and prioritising your debts may help avoid serious consequences in the New Year and throughout the rest of 2010. Priority Costs in 2010 Prioritising your costs and debts means using your ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2010/01/04/prioritise-your-costs-and-debts-in-2010/ The Confederation of British Industries (CBI) predicts that the UK will exit recession in the fourth quarter of 2009, partly due to consumer spending ahead of the VAT rise in January. As a result, the UK’s leading business organisation predicts annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2.5% in 2011, following ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2009/12/28/cbi-predict-end-of-recession/ The Office of Fair Trading are warning the public to be on their guard against a new Jamaican-based lottery scam which has already seen some UK residents lose thousands of pounds. Fraudulent telemarketers based in Jamaica are making unsolicited phone calls to consumers telling them they have won a sum of ... http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2009/12/22/lottery-scam-sees-people-lose-life-savings/