Families unable to cope with unexpected bills

NEARLY 700,000 families aren’t able to meet unexpected bills in the East Midlands.

Between 2014/15 and 2016/17, there were 687,153 families in our region not able to meet an unexpected but necessary bill of £800, new figures released by the Family Resources Survey reveal.

That accounts for almost a third of all families in the East Midlands (32%) - a rate that’s above the national average.

The survey showed that, across the UK, 30% of families were unable to pay an unexpected bill of £800 - the same as 10.2 million families.

The findings come as, earlier this year, charity Citizens Advice revealed that £18.9 billion is owed in everyday bills.

This includes tax credit overpayments of almost £7.5 billion, £2.8 billion owed to local authorities in council tax arrears and £2.2 billion owed to water companies.

According to the charity, falling behind on essential bills has a more severe effect than missing repayments like credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts due to a lack of protection in place.

The immediate consequences for those who are unable to pay bills can include their utilities being cut off, eviction due to rent arrears or even prison they fail to pay council tax.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “One person every three minutes comes to us for help with bailiff issues.

“Families are living in fear of a visit from the bailiffs, and small missed bills can skyrocket through excessive enforcement fees.

“Our evidence shows aggressive tactics by bailiffs cause huge if distress and can even push people further into debt.

“Families are going without essentials like food or electricity to meet their payments.

“The Ministry of Justice has already announced a call for evidence into aggressive collection practices by bailiffs.

“They must use this to take strong action and introduce an independent bailiff regulator to fix this broken system.”