Bigger bills for forgetful movers

30 November -0001

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British home-movers pay more than £257 million a year in fines for missed payments and interest charges overlooked during the upheaval that takes place when moving home.

New research from BACS Payment Schemes Limited, the company behind the Direct Debit service in the UK, reveals that almost one in five (17 per cent) home-movers forget to inform their utility companies and banks of their change in address, triggering penalties that add to the financial burden of house-moving.

Michael Chambers, Managing Director BACS Payment Schemes Limited, said:
“Moving home is already an expensive and stressful time, yet we are wasting millions more by letting household bills fall behind when changing address. If consumers used Direct Debit to pay their bills they could rest assure that no payments would be missed – just one less hassle to worry about when changing address.”

During the whole process of moving, one in six (16 per cent) Britons have received a final reminder from a utility company with one in 10 (ten per cent) moving in to find that their services have actually been disconnected.

Stress could be to blame for Britons forgetting finances when climbing the property ladder as one in three (33 per cent) claim moving home is one of the most stressful experiences of their lives with an average cost of moving equaling £2,203 per household.

Yet despite the extra work and anxiety attached to moving, people expect to move six[3] times in their lifetime – with one in seven (14 per cent) choosing a new address even more frequently.

The reasons for this are varied, but more than 350,000 families have gone to the trouble of relocating solely to be in the right catchment area for a certain school, while the main reason for over 87,000 to move has been to be nearer an NHS dentist or other NHS services.

The survey found upgrading properties (34 per cent), moving near jobs (12 per cent) and downsizing property (seven per cent) are the most common reasons to move home.

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