MORE and more Scots are seeking help over power bill debts as the pandemic continues, a lifeline charity network says.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) has revealed a significant jump in the number of people looking for advice on fuel debt.
The problem occurs when householders fall into arrears with their energy supplier.
Data revealed today shows a 13% increase in fuel debt advice cases in just one month.
CAS says the December-to-November change is “part of a longer term trend”, with fuel debt advice rising from less than 3% of total debt advice cases to almost 6% since 2016.
And it says this “steady rise” could continue to grow as people struggle with energy bills during the Covid-19 crisis.
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The figures are published today as the charity comes to the end of its Big Energy Saving Month campaign, which aims to help people cut their energy bills and get the financial support they are entitled to.
Kate Morrison, CAS fair markets spokesperson, said: “These figures show that there has been a clear trend over the last few years of people coming to the Citizens Advice network for advice on fuel debt with a large spike at the end of last year.
"The economic impact of Covid-19 in the last year has hit incomes hard and will have made the situation worse for many, so we expect the trend to continue.
“Fuel debt is a particular tricky situation for consumers to find themselves in, as often people don’t have the option of switching supplier when they are in arrears.
"One positive here is that we are able to help the people who come forward to talk to us, because our advisers are experts at dealing with all kinds of debt. Between April and December last year the Citizen Advice Bureaux network secured over £650,000 for people relating to energy debt issues.
“But it is still very worrying that so many people are in the position of needing this kind of advice.
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“We’ve been able to help so many people over the month, and our message in these final days of the campaign is that everyone can benefit from our saving tips.
“There are so many things you can do to cut your energy bills. We would urge everyone to check out our advice on our website, or contact their local CAB for free, independent and confidential help.”
For more information, visit www.cas.org.uk.
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