TEHRAN (FNA)- More than 2mln households have missed a bill payment every month this year as people struggle to keep their heads above water in a “relentless cost of living crisis”, according to new research from consumer group Which?.
In June an estimated 2.1mln households missed or defaulted on at least one mortgage, rent, loan, credit card or bill, according to the consumer champion’s monthly insight tracker. This figure has been above 2 million every month so far this year, it said, The Guardian reported.
The tracker, based on an online poll of 2,000 consumers, found the number of people in financial difficulty remains at a high level. Six in 10 consumers said they had had to make an adjustment – such as cutting back on essentials or dipping into savings – to cover essential spending. That figure is similar to April and May’s but much higher than a year ago, when it was about 40%.
“The prices of everything [are] rising so steeply, but wages and benefits are not. My wages have gone up by about £10 a week yet my petrol has gone up by £40 a week,” a 35-year-old woman on a low income told Which? Researchers, adding, “And the cost of a food shop feels extortionate. There’s no extra money coming in but the amount going out is increasing at an alarming rate.”
Rocio Concha, Which?’s director of policy and advocacy, said the tracker showed that a “relentless cost of living crisis is continuing to put huge pressure on household finances”.
“These pressures are especially apparent among the most financially vulnerable – with around two-thirds of those on incomes of £21,000 or lower saying they’ve had to make at least one financial adjustment to cover essentials in the last month,” she said.
Most consumers across all income groups said they had made an adjustment to cover essential spending in the past month, but this was most common among households with an income of up to £21,000. However, 57% of consumers with a household income of more than £55,000 had made at least one adjustment.
The recent series of one-off payments announced by the government to help with the energy price cap increase in October will bring relief to many, but their success will be judged on whether they continue to reach the most financially vulnerable, Which? said.
“The government and businesses must ensure that targeted support reaches the ever-growing number of consumers struggling to make ends meet,” said Concha.
The children’s commissioner for England also called on the government to develop urgent plans to tackle child poverty, amid the cost of living crisis that is hitting the most vulnerable in society hardest.
Rachel de Souza said children were increasingly worried about the soaring price of basic essentials and the impact on their lives, telling MPs on the Commons education committee that urgent steps were required to tackle poverty ahead of a difficult autumn for families.
“My plea would be to ensure that we have children, and families with children, really strategised properly in government so that we have a proper plan. I suspect – and I’m no economist – but I suspect this is going to get worse into the autumn,” she said.
Families across Britain are expected to face further pressure from rising energy bills this October, amid the worst squeeze on living standards since the 1950s, as Russia-Ukraine war and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic drive up inflation.
Asked by the Labour MP Kim Johnson about child poverty figures from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shared exclusively with the Guardian this week, De Souza said young people were growing increasingly concerned about the rising cost of living.
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