Debtors at risk due to petrol hikes?

Those in debt may find their financial situations become more difficult to manage as it has emerged that petrol costs have risen above £5 a gallon for the first time in more than a year.

AA representative Paul Watters noted that, towards the end of 2009, people were cutting back on car use and tightening their budgets to compensate for higher fuel prices.

“We expect that to get worse,” he said.

Mr Watters also remarked that the reason for this sudden surge in the price of fuel was that tax increases were combining with the current cost of oil, which comes to more than $80 (£50) a barrel.

According to the AA, a household with two cars that run on petrol will be outlaying £52.15 extra every month to keep them on the roads.

This comes after uSwitch.com recently predicted that electricity bills could soon be hiked up, with families having to pay out an extra £548 each year.

By Sarah Adie