Image copyright PA Gas and electricity firms must do more to help those struggling to pay bills by spotting debt before it becomes severe, the energy watchdog has said. While the number of customers in debt is down, providers allow customers to accrue £600 in unpaid bills on average before they start paying money back.…
BUNDABERG residents are doing it tough, according to the Salvation Army. New data has revealed locals seeking financial assistance through The Salvation Army’s Moneycare financial counselling service are in extreme debt, with no way out but to seek help. The findings show that those on the brink of financial crisis owe $2.55 for every dollar…
One of the UKs biggest energy companies is allowing its customers to fall as much as £1,600 into debt on their energy bills before intervening to help them repay it. The energy regulator, Ofgem, said the big-six firm npower, along with the smaller suppliers Utility Warehouse, Ecotricity, iSupplyEnergy, and First Utility, let customers accrue an…
Chinas rise to economic prominence over the past two decades has benefited many countries, including Australia. As a commodity-rich nation on Chinas doorstep, Australia benefited more than most thanks to its insatiable appetite for its natural resources, helping its transition towards a predominantly urban, highly-connected economy. However, as many are acutely aware, that economic transformation…
Image copyright Getty Images Imagine a world in which no one could borrow money: no house, no car, no building that extension, and possibly no Christmas presents either. The ability to borrow is vital. Shylock, you might argue, gave money-lending a bad name. Indeed much of what we borrow is “good debt” – when the…
Energy suppliers have again provoked the industry regulators ire by turning a blind eye to customers struggles with rising debt before stepping in to help. Ofgem branded energy minnows First Utility, Ecotricity, Utility Warehouse, iSupplyEnergy and Spark Energy as the worst offenders. The only big six supplier to be named and shamed is Npower. Ofgem…
The President of the World Bank Dr Jim Young Kim has promised to help small island developing states get concessional financing to ease the burden of post disaster debt. He invited Caribbean leaders to put together a financial plan that can be presented to world leaders, who will meet in Paris on December 12 to…
It is fair to say that Somalia was not top of the agenda at this years annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Finance ministers and central bank governors were too busy chewing the fat over the state of the global economy and the threat posed by cybercrime to pay much attention…
If you have thousands of dollars of student loan debt hanging over your head the promise of debt reduction can be very appealing. But federal and state investigators say a lot of the companies that promised to help with student loan debt were really scams designed to trick people into paying more than $95 million…
Student loan debt affects more than 42 million Americans and, with outstanding balances of more than $1.4 trillion, student loans are the second largest segment of U.S. debt, after mortgages. Operation Game of Loans includes seven FTC actions: five new cases, one new judgment in favor of the FTC, and a preliminary injunction entered in…