A report by the uSwitch website has revealed that energy supplies in the UK are still sending out inaccurate bills to many households up and down the country. It is believed that 30% of households in the UK have received an inaccurate bill over the last two years while 17% have received an inaccurate bill on more than one occasion. When you also consider that 43% of UK households have ended up with unexpected payment demands from energy suppliers it does not reflect very well on the sector as a whole.
In a bitter blow for the UK government, UK ISP TalkTalk has today refused to accept some of the more draconian measures introduced by the Digital Economy Bill. The main measures which the company disagrees with relate to consumers needing to protect themselves from hackers and the fact that many consumers could become inadvertently embroiled in large-scale computer piracy by unknown third parties.
As the Digital Economy Bill has finally been pushed through parliament, albeit under a very different guise to the one initially suggested, there are concerns that many homes around the UK could soon be the target of law firms looking to stamp out illegal file sharing. We have seen a number of issues where "innocent" Internet users have seen their Wi-Fi connections hijacked by third parties who have downloaded illegal material and infringed copyrights.
In what many believe could herald the start of a major campaign for cleaner fuel in the UK the UK government's Energy Act 2010 has been given Royal Assent and passed onto the statute books. While predominantly the act will focus on the development of clean coal in the UK it is likely to kick-start a significant change in UK energy markets which will see carbon capture and storage techniques improve dramatically.
As we approach the next general election the UK government is today concerned about growing unrest within the UK motoring community. The price of a litre of petrol is now around £1.20 and there are concerns that we could see the price increase to £1.50 in the short-term. A number of motoring organisations are reporting significant unrest amongst the members and many MPs have been on the end of verbal tongue lashings from voters in the UK who are dismayed at the amount of tax the UK government is currently taking from a litre of petrol.
The Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders has this weekend revealed a surprise fall in the number of vehicles on UK roads. It is believed that there were 220,000 fewer cars on the road in 2009 compared to 2008 which is the first drop since 1946. Even after the 0.7% fall in the number of cars this still equates to just over 31 million vehicles on the road in 2009, although there are a number of reasons why we have seen a drop.
As we mentioned in one of our earlier articles, UK motorists have seen the cost of filling their petrol tanks increase enormously over the last two years. Today marks another difficult period for UK motorists with petrol prices hitting 119.9p a litre and concern that prices could push further ahead in the short-term. A mixture of a short-term increase in the cost of oil and the detrimental dollar exchange rate against sterling have come together to cause a nightmare scenario for the UK motorists.
Yesterday's revelation that Ryanair is in talks with Boeing to develop coin-operated toilets has been followed today with news that the company is looking to increase the £15 cost of taking hand-luggage on board to £20 during the summer holiday period. It seems that not only Ryanair but all other low-cost airlines in the UK are looking to increase their income streams and reduce their costs in the short to medium term.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has today confirmed that UK food inflation has fallen to its lowest level since 2006 with prices increasing by just 1.2% last month. This will come as welcome news to UK consumers who have seen their budgets stretched to the limit over the last two years at a time when job security has also been foremost in the minds of many.
Yesterday saw the price of crude oil hit USD86 a barrel with concerns that we will see short-term increases in the price of fuel in the UK. This comes at a time when UK motorists are already coming to terms with a two pence increase in fuel duty to be followed by a further increase in October and April 2011. The cost of driving in the UK has risen significantly under the current government but then again UK motorists have always been seen as cash cows for the government of the day.
