Recent reports suggest that high energy bills and child maintenance costs are causing so many people to get into financial difficulty. Energy bills reached their highest in December 2006 and child maintenance costs remain high. From January 2006 to January 2007 it is believed that household utility bills rose from an average of £775 a year to £1,000 a year.
The Citizen's Advice Bureau in London said that since the beginning of 2006 the number of people seeking advice due to not being able to afford gas and electricity bills went up by an alarming 34%. This compares to just 3% of people who sought advice about loans and credit card debt.
Only time will tell what effect this will have, but predications that IVAs (Individual Voluntary Agreements) and bankruptcy are on the increase are looking even more set to be correct.