Could smart metering make debt management easier?

One organisation has suggested that OfGem and government proposals to provide prepay facilities in all smart meters could reduce energy bills for customers, which may make debt management less difficult to handle.

Consumer Focus welcomed the prospectus issued by the Department for Energy and Climate Change in conjunction with the regulatory body, which encouraged responses from interested parties on issues including data privacy and security, the Smart Energy Code and consumer protection.

"Providing prepay facilities in all smart meters would be a major breakthrough which should cut bills and make payment easier for millions of the poorest customers who have been penalised for years," Zoe McLeod, energy expert at Consumer Focus, commented.

Although many customers will be eager to know how much the moves could set them back, the authority's recognition that changes need to be made for their protection should reassure them, she noted.

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Anyone looking to remortgage their home to deal with debt management issues may struggle because of the falling house prices.

One of the signs a person may be struggling with debt management is that they only ever make minimum repayments on their credit card, one organisation has said.

Debt management problems in the UK could still be prevalent after new figures from the Bank of England showed record amounts of write-offs for credit cards.

There was an increase in the number of people looking for debt management advice from Citizen's Advice Bureaux in the first three month of 2010.

Filing for bankruptcy in cases of financial difficulty may not necessarily always be the easy option.

Homelessness in Scotland may be being caused by poor debt management, with a recent study showing a number of cases are due to mortgage arrears.

Debt management could affect pensioners, with living costs and inflation rising

Those going to university should make sure they draw up a monthly budget to avoid finding themselves with debt management problems, it has been advised.

If interest rates were not at an historic low, there would be more people struggling with debt management, one expert has said.

Thousands of new debt management cases are being seen by Citizen's Advice Bureaus every day, it has been revealed.