Citizens Advice calls for regulators to take action as it reveals loyalty can cost customers nearly £1,000 per year

Customers who stay loyal to their essential service providers could be paying £987 more per year – equivalent to four months’ worth of food for the average household – new research from Citizens Advice reveals.

The report found that charging loyal customers more than new customers for the same service is a common practice across six key markets: energy, mobile, broadband, home insurance, fixed rate mortgages and savings accounts.

Yet a new survey shows more than 9 in 10 people said they think providers of essential services should charge loyal customers the same or less than new customers.

Citizens Advice is calling on regulators to set targets to reduce the number of people who pay the loyalty penalty, and investigate solutions for vulnerable customers.

It is also calling on the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the cross-cutting impact of the loyalty penalty, with a focus on vulnerable consumers.

Read more HERE

Citizens Advice calls on Councils to rethink how they collect council tax

Councils are preparing to set their 2018–19 budgets. But it’s important for them to think about how they collect tax as well as how it will be spent.

That’s because poor collection practices can worsen things for people struggling to pay, and increase a council’s costs.

Read more HERE