StepChange in the news

Our latest media coverage

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Friday 10 March 2023

In the media, at the beginning of the week, Director of External Affairs Richard Lane was interviewed for a piece in Sky News about older age groups using Buy Now, Pay Later products. Richard discusses the risks of using BNPL and the need for it to be regulated as soon as possible. Richard also took part in a second interview for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme’s fortnightly financial newsletter about the work of StepChange.

On social channels, in March so far, over 500 users have gone to our site from social media. Of those users, 7.9% on average are going through to starting debt advice. This is an increase from our 5% average from last year. Our ‘What debts should I pay first’ video went live across Instagram, Facebook and TikTok – gaining over 2k views across platforms. We caught up with Jamie Buckley after the Collections Think Tank cost of living session, read the Q&A article.

News

• Young homeowners most likely to face mortgage strain, watchdog says (BBC)
• Budget 2023: Struggling parents to get more help with childcare (BBC)
• Martin Lewis warns low energy users will still suffer even if £500 hike is axed (Chronicle Live)
• StepChange and Zilch’s partnership is mentioned in Finextra and Fintech Finance.  
• StepChange was mentioned as a source of advice in several articles about hospitality workers’ mental health during the cost of living crisis. This was included in Benefits Expert, Dine Out magazine, Morning Advertiser and Bdaily News.
• We were also mentioned as a source of advice in The Sun and Inside Conveyancing in articles about the FCA’s new mortgage guidance setting out how lenders can support their borrowers.

Friday 3 March 2023

In the media, this week we published our latest client data for January while commenting on the Bank of England’s money and credit figures. This was covered in a syndicated piece in This is Money, Reuters and Yahoo, and also in The Intermediary, Global Rubber Markets, CCR Magazine, Credit Connect and Politics.co.uk. Elsewhere, we responded to the Insolvency Service’s outcomes and providers data for 2022. Director of External Affairs Richard Lane’s comments were covered by the Intermediary, Politics.co.uk, Credit Connect and CCR Magazine.

On social channels, we responded to the news that Ofgem had lowered the energy price cap, repeating our calls to the government to keep the Energy Price Guarantee at £2,500 from April. We posted a new reel to Instagram about checking meter readings which has had almost 1,000 views.   

News

• StepChange was mentioned as a source of advice in Metro and Cosmopolitan.
• ‘It makes me want to cry’: inside crumbling courts as judges wrestle with rise in rent eviction cases (The Guardian)
• Women in UK ‘more likely than men to be on low pay and struggling’ (The Guardian)
• 41,000 vulnerable households had their energy debt written off in Catalonia. Is the UK government listening? (Big Issue)
• Energy firms expect bill help to continue in April (BBC)
• 'I'm taking on £15k debt to pay nursery fees': The cost of childcare crisis keeping mothers out of work (Sky News)

Friday 24 February

In the media, Earlier this week, ITV News ran a report looking at people turning to credit to pay for essentials. Director of External Affairs Richard Lane was interviewed for six regional programmes giving advice to consumers worried about debt and rising bills. StepChange client Alannah-Jayne Simpson was interviewed by BBC News for the ‘My Money’ diary series. She speaks about how the cost of living crisis is impacting her and her family, having long term health conditions, and getting help with her debt from the charity. Last weekend, The Sun published a piece looking at the mis-selling of IVAs - Richard Lane and Head of Policy Peter Tutton were quoted.

On social channels, this month so far, over 1,500 social media users have gone to our site. An average of over 7% are going through to starting debt advice. We’ve been mentioned heavily on the Reddit platform, with anonymous users sharing their experiences. We published an instagram reel with impartial tips around insulating the home, which has over 880 views.

News

• Our Scottish YouGov cost of living polling continues to be covered by the Northern Times.
• Previous StepChange cost of living polling is mentioned in the Fintech Times.
• Households face energy ‘crunch point’ as support tapers from April, MPs told (Yahoo)
• UK consumers turn more confident but inflation challenges remain - GfK (Reuters)
• Mortgage lenders pull and increase headline rates (FT Adviser)
• Broadband must be accessible to all, peers told (BBC)
• Women work two months for free, reveals TUC analysis (The Guardian)

Friday 10 February 2023

In the media, a journalist from the i paper recently visited our Leeds office and interviewed debt advisors Pedro, Ray and Clare about their experiences of helping clients and the impact of the cost of living crisis. Our new partnership with Zilch was covered in the Evening Standard and several trade outlets including Credit Connect, Fintech Finance, The AI Journal, Silicon UK, The Paypers and AltFi.

We supported Martin Lewis’ letter to the Chancellor calling for the rise in the energy price guarantee in April to be scrapped, StepChange’s support was mentioned in the Telegraph, LadBible and in a widely syndicated piece in the Independent and over 180 regional and national outlets.

On social channels

Over 200 users have gone from social media to the site this month. 8% of users are going through to starting debt advice. Our 30 second video about what a bailiff can and can’t list, has reached over 2,000 views. We back Martin Lewis calling on Jeremy Hunt to keep the price cap at £2,500. This tweet received a 5.5% engagement rate. 70 views and counting of our Linked In article highlighting partner comments in celebration of our 30^th anniversary of free debt advice.

News

• StepChange’s partnership with Nationwide is mentioned in the Daily Record.
• Rental evictions build after Covid ban lifted (BBC) 
• Mobile and broadband prices: UK watchdog reviews inflation-busting rises (The Guardian)
• A mortgage repayment crisis is looming – and this age group will be hit the worst (The Telegraph - £)
• Levelling Up Committee submits recommendations on PRS reform proposals (Mortgage Strategy)
• One in five Scottish households are living in serious financial difficulty (Scottish Financial News)

StepChange was mentioned as a source of advice in the following online articles:

• How are parents keeping up with high household bills? (Independent)
• Long Covid: What are my rights for taking time off work and what financial help is available? (The i paper)
• What are my rights if I can’t afford to pay my energy bills? (The Big Issue)
• UK narrowly avoids falling into recession as the economy flatlines – what it means for your money (The Sun)

Friday 3 February 2023

In the media, earlier this week we published our latest client data from December, while commenting on the Bank of England’s money and credit data. Director of External Affairs Richard Lane’s comment was included in a syndicated article in the Independent, Evening Standard, Yahoo and AOL, and separately in CCR Magazine and Credit Connect. Yesterday we responded to the news that the Bank of England was raising the base rate by 0.5%. Our response was covered in a widely syndicated article in MailOnline, Yahoo News, Independent, over 200 regional outlets, and also in Credit Connect.

Following The Times’ undercover investigation into British Gas forcefully installing prepayment meters in vulnerable customers homes, Head of Policy Peter Tutton was interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s PM programme (from 40:00) and on the BBC News Channel about issues in the bailiff industry.  

On social channels

Over 339 users have gone from social media to our site this week. We responded to the Bank of England’s interest rate rise. We also responded to The Times’ prepayment meter investigation in a thread tweet which gained traction. In addition to our TikTok video about bailiffs, we published the full length video on our YouTube channel.

News

• Yesterday we responded to the FCA’s proposed Debt Packager referral fee ban. Richard Lane’s comment was included in a piece in The Sun
• Energy firms told to stop force-fitting prepayment meters (BBC)
• Interest rates hiked to 4% in 15-year high - what it means for your money (Mirror)
• ‘I’m really worried’: homeowners and would-be buyers on UK interest rates (The Guardian)

We were mentioned as a source of advice in the following online articles:

• City regulator proposes to ban debt packager referral fees (Independent, Yahoo and AOL)
• Major energy supplier makes change to prepayment meters following British Gas (The Sun)

Friday 27 January 2023

In the media, this week we marked 30 years of providing free and impartial debt advice. Our press release was covered by CCR Magazine and Politics.co.uk, and Richard Lane and Sue Anderson were interviewed on BBC Radio Leeds (1:15:00) and BBC Radio Norfolk (from 2:36:00) respectively.

Yesterday we published our latest Scottish quarterly client data for Q4 of 2022. The data and comment from Head of Scotland Sharon Bell were covered by The Herald (also in print), Third Force News, The Intermediary and CCR Magazine.

On social channels

In January so far, over 1,771 users have gone through social media to our site. Of those users, just over 200 of gone through to starting debt advice. We marked out 30^th birthday and did a live tweet thread of the event, where you’ll be able to spot some colleague friendly faces! Our CEO, Phil Andrew, wrote a LinkedIn article reflecting on the work we have done which has been read over 100 times by LinkedIn users. This week in social media, Kimberley met up with the social media manager at Christians Against Poverty to look at how we can support each other online through content - a wonderful and promising meeting!

News

• The Guardian published an interview with Catherine Brown, the chair of the Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB) yesterday, about what she hopes to achieve with the new agency and improve in the bailiff industry. Head of Policy Peter Tutton is quoted in the piece.  
• Hundreds of thousands paying wrong tax fines (BBC)
• Quarter of Londoners living in poverty, charity says (BBC)
• UK rent rises forecast to slow as tenant competition eases - Rightmove (Reuters)
• Bank of England to make interest rates announcement next week - what we know so far (Manchester Evening News)
• Millions of pounds of benefits unclaimed, says Christians Against Poverty (Church Times)

Friday 20 January 2023

In the media, it’s been a busy week for media - on Monday we collaborated with the BBC on a story about debt following Christmas, which included a headline piece, and several interviews on BBC Breakfast, BBC 5 Live, BBC Radio Leeds, BBC Wales, BBC Radio Merseyside and Sky News, as well as the story being mentioned on the BBC lunchtime news and every national and regional BBC radio station. On the same day, BBC Morning Live ran a film featuring StepChange, where they visited our Leeds office and interviewed CEO Phil Andrew and debt advisor Gareth Huggett about what clients are facing during the cost of living crisis. They also interviewed StepChange client Sarah in the film, who spoke about her experience of getting help from the charity, saying “I couldn’t have done it without StepChange”.

The following day The Martin Lewis Money Show featured a special episode on debt which we supported by keeping our phoneline open until 10pm. As part of the programme we heard about Rob’s story, who praised StepChange for helping him become debt-free after getting into debt from a gambling addiction. In the minutes after Rob’s story aired, over 2,200 people visited StepChange’s website.

On social channels, over 1,200 users have gone to the site from social media this month so far. Of which a huge 10% are going through to debt advice (we usually see an average of 5% as a target). There have been 65.7k impressions on Twitter from January, with our involvement with Martin Lewis gaining high engagement - see our tweets. Our TikTok video of our client Nikki has nearly reached 1k views, with 100 likes.

News

• StepChange’s surge in activity since Christmas is mentioned in The Motley Fool
• UK energy bills to fall to about £2,200 from July as wholesale gas costs drop (The Guardian)
• UK lenders fear spike in mortgage defaults as cost of living hits home (The Guardian)
• Energy bills rise for 2.5 million homes on Economy 7 (BBC)
• Brits Are Renting Out Spare Rooms to Beat Cost of Living Crisis (Bloomberg)
• We were mentioned as a source of advice on BBC Radio Oxford

Friday 13 January 2023

In the media, earlier this week, Head of StepChange Scotland Sharon Bell was interviewed by The National Scotland about the soar in demand for advice that StepChange has seen since the new year.

Head of Media Sue Anderson spoke to BBC Spotlight’s evening news programme about the same topic, and where to get help if you’re struggling with debt in the new year.

Sue Anderson was quoted in Good Housekeeping discussing misleading lead generator adverts on social media which claim to offer debt help.

Social channels

So far in January, over 712 users have gone to our site through social media. Of those users, 87 have gone through to starting debt advice. We’ve been seeing lovely tweets from clients who have become debt free! Here’s Anthony’s tweet, and a tweet from a client called Hannah.

News

• Information about applying for Breathing Space through StepChange is mentioned in this piece about prepayment meters in BBC News.
• Energy bills predicted to fall further this year (BBC)
• Over 750,000 homes risk default, 47,000 mortgage prisoners: FCA (Mortgage Strategy)
• Britons to spend average of £10,000 on energy bills during this parliament (Independent)

StepChange was mentioned as a source of advice on BBC Radio 2, LBC, BBC Radio Berkshire and in the following online articles:

• Citizens Advice calls for ban on “forced” prepayment meters (The Money Edit)
• Gaining control of your finances (Leader Live)
• Major bank to give struggling customers more time to pay back overdrafts and loans (The Sun)
• UK economy unexpectedly grows by 0.1% in November – what it means for your finances (The Sun)

Friday 6 January 2023

In the media, Head of StepChange Scotland Sharon Bell joined a panel on STV Scotland Tonight yesterday to discuss the cost of living crisis and what we’re seeing at StepChange. This week we published our latest client data for November. Director of External Affairs Richard Lane’s comment was covered by The Guardian, BBC News, The Telegraph, Yahoo News, CCR Magazine and in a widely syndicated article in the Independent, Evening Standard, and over 165 other regional outlets.

Social channels

335 people have gone to our site from socials over a 5 day period. This is an increase of over 20% on the previous year. Of those users, 29 started debt advice, an increase of 141% on the previous year (29 vs 12). Our most popular content was The Guardian piece, featuring comments from our lovely debt advisors Julie and Sally.

News

• StepChange monthly client data continues to be covered by Scottish Financial News, Credit Connect and Politics.co.uk
• Number of households renting has more than doubled since 2001, census reveals (The Guardian)
• Will mortgage costs go down? When to get a new deal as rates are set to fall to 4% by March (The i)

StepChange was mentioned as a source of advice in the following online articles:

• How can my bank help me through the cost-of-living crisis? (Independent and 9 other regional outlets)
• 5 ways to get on top of your debts in 2023 (Independent)
• Money Saving Expert tips to start 2023 with a financial boost (Bristol Post)
• How to pay off debt (The Money Edit)
• What is budgeting and how can you do it? (The Money Edit)
• Full list of energy support for customers with British Gas, EDF, E.ON and more (Manchester Evening News)
• Major high-cost loan firm with 150,000 customers on the ‘brink of collapse’ – check if you’re affected (The Sun)

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