Jul 3, 2007
Reuters

LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - More than seven million household bill payments have been missed in the past six months as interest rate increases hit home, new figures show.

Some 1.23 million regular bill payments -- for gas and electricity, mobile phone contracts and council tax -- have been missed per month for the past six months, as household finances come under strain, according to research by price comparison site MoneyExpert.com.

The survey, conducted by YouGov, which interviewed 2,331 adults, found that council tax bills are most likely to be missed: 1.85 million have gone unpaid or were settled late in the past six months.

Sean Gardner, chief executive of MoneyExpert.com, said: "It is clear that many of us are under financial pressure.

"It was inevitable that once interest rates started rising, something had to give and it's worrying to find that people are missing basic household bills."

Gardener said missing bills could have serious consequences, from losing the service to being taken to court. It can also impact upon your credit rating.

The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates this week for the fifth time in a year as it battles to curb price pressures in the fast-growing economy.

A Reuters poll shows 56 of 70 economists expect rates to rise to 5.75 percent on Thursday and almost half reckon rates will hit 6 percent by the end of the year.

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