Election Housing and Energy Debt Complaint
Summary
Ahead of the General Election, this episode delves into housing concerns, presenting listener questions and an expert analysis of party manifestos on new builds, rents, and social housing. It also investigates a distressing case of an elderly listener wrongly chased for a £7,000 gas bill by British Gas and examines new research highlighting the widespread struggle to afford car insurance, exploring the reasons behind the escalating premiums.Episode description
There's less than a fortnight to go before the polls open in the General Election. The deadline's passed to register to vote, but there's still plenty of time to work out where you'll put that cross on the ballot paper. This week Money Box is talking about housing - focusing on your questions and comments.
Imagine being told you owe more than £7,000 for your gas. You spend months trying to explain there's no way you could possibly owe anywhere near that amount, only to be told one day that because you still haven't paid it your details are being passed onto a debt collection agency. We investigate one listener's story.
And new research shared exclusively with Money Box suggests almost a third of people are struggling to afford their car insurance. In a survey of more than 4,000 people the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust, a charity who carry out research to help improve living standards across the UK, found almost 1 in 3 people described their car insurance premiums as ‘unaffordable’. What can you do about it?
Presenter: Paul Lewis Reporters: Dan Whitworth and Catherine Lund Researcher: Jo Krasner Editor: Jess Quayle
(First broadcast at 12pm Saturday 22nd June 2024)