The Financial Conduct Authority, Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom published a joint debt collection statement in March 2024 via the UK Regulators' Network1. The statement sets out four expected outcomes for debt collection across the regulated sectors, according to Consumer Scotland's account of it1.
Consumer Scotland, the statutory body for consumers in Scotland, describes the statement as committing signatories to "fully consider information (including budgets, affordable payment offers and prepared Standard Financial Statements) and third-party authority forms, from a customer's chosen credible debt or consumer body organisations"1. In Scotland the equivalent budgeting tool is known as the Common Financial Tool1.
"In March 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Ofgem, Ofwat and Ofcom published a joint debt collection statement via the UK Regulators' Network"
The statement lands against a record debt backdrop. Ofgem reports energy debt in the Great Britain market now stands at over £3bn, a record level1. Consumer Scotland argues the true burden is higher, because its broader definition of energy debt includes borrowing from family or friends, credit card debt and missed rent or mortgage payments taken on to pay for energy, so "the aggregate debt burden experienced by consumers is likely to be higher than the reported £3.1bn within the retail energy market"1.
Its February 2024 tracker, which surveyed 1,609 domestic consumers in Scotland, found more than one in twelve households (9%) in energy debt on that broader definition1. Of those, around 15% said they faced debt recovery action, and forty-eight percent were not confident they would be able to clear the debt1. The same survey found the number of households reporting difficulty keeping up with energy bills had fallen to lower than at any point since the survey started in Spring 20221.
Consumer Scotland's analysis of its tracker data found disability, having young children and low income most associated with energy indebtedness1. Households with income under £20,000 a year are 5% more likely to be in energy debt than households over £60,000 when controlling for other variables, while having a child under 5 in the household carries the strongest association, at 10% more likely1. It cites Marie Curie (2023) finding some people with a terminal illness may see energy bills rise by as much as 75% after diagnosis, and Scope (2023) calculating disabled people spent on average £634 more of their budget on energy over a year than non-disabled people1.
Why it matters for households
Debt collection practice sits directly on household energy independence, because a repayment plan set without sight of a customer's full finances can push a home into self-rationing: cutting consumption to afford the repayments rather than to match need1. Consumer Scotland flags the harms of living in a cold, damp home as a particular concern in Ofgem's call for input1. Payment method matters too: prepayment customers are more likely to report owing money to someone else to cover energy costs, and that hidden debt may not be counted when suppliers assess ability to pay and calculate repayment plans1.
The statement's four expected outcomes are not set out in the material available here, and the UK Regulators' Network statement itself has not been reported in these terms beyond Consumer Scotland's description1. Consumer Scotland recommends the UK Government explore options for targeted bill support, with support from Ofgem, to improve affordability for those struggling to pay for ongoing consumption1.
What happens next
Heat networks are scheduled to become a regulated industry in April 2025, and Consumer Scotland will be the statutory advocate for heat network consumers in Scotland1. That brings a further set of households inside regulated consumer protection, alongside the debt collection expectations the four regulators have now published1.