Half of consumers struggle with bills

POWER: Almost half of Yorkshire consumers are said to be struggling to pay their household bills.

The survey, on behalf of electricity supplier Powershop UK, concludes that the average Yorkshire adult spends almost £18,000 a year on household bills, which equates to more than £1m over a lifetime.

ALMOST HALF of Yorkshire’s consumers are struggling to pay their household bills, according to a new study.

The survey, on behalf of electricity supplier Powershop UK, concludes that the average Yorkshire adult spends almost £18,000 a year on household bills, which equates to more than £1m over a lifetime.

However, the regional annual household bills figure is lower than the national average of £19,142, according to Powershop’s research.

The study, based on responses from 2,000 British consumers, indicates that 47 per cent of people in Yorkshire are struggling to pay their bills, which is higher than the UK average of 44 per cent.

A Powershop UK spokesman said: “This is despite the region being the best for shopping around for the best deals on utilities, with 91 per cent of people on the hunt for better prices. This is higher than the UK average of 85 per cent.”

It appears that people living outside the major cities are feeling the pinch. In York, just 32 per cent of the survey’s respondents said they were struggling to meet their household expenses. In Leeds, this figure was 36 per cent and in Sheffield it was 41 per cent.

David Winter, the head of Powershop UK, said: “The amount the UK spends on bills is astonishing.

“The average person in the UK has just £220.57 of disposable income left each month after bills have been paid, and even though people in Yorkshire have slightly more, with £236 left at the end of each month, it is still a low sum.”

Nick Hodgkinson, a Bradfordbased specialist services manager for Citizens Advice who manages a team of debt advisers, said that in the last year, Citizens Advice across the UK has advised more than 200,000 people who were facing household debts problems.

He added: “We helped people with nearly 70,000 fuel debt issues. Research by Citizens Advice shows that the poorest pensioners and lowest-income families are paying an extra £250m each year, just for being loyal customers.

“Around 800,000 pensioners and 1.5m low-income families with children are on their energy supplier’s standard variable tariff.

“These households are paying an average of £141 more a year for a dual fuel gas and electricity bill, than if they were on the cheapest deal available from one of the nine largest suppliers.”

He added: “We’d also like to see more scrutiny of how loyal customers are treated by businesses in other regulated markets, like telecoms.”