Just a day after it cheerily announced the biggest ever increase in gas prices for its 16 million customers, British Gas announces massive profits.

Hmm, because no energy company has ever done that has it?

The huge rise in gas bills was blamed on on higher wholesale costs, but despite their profit margin only dropping by 20%, British Gas decided to hike their gas prices up by 35% and their electricity prices by 9%!

Then today they announce profits of £992 million; just as consumer groups warn that if the latest price rise is replicated across the industry, it will send another 1 million of us into fuel poverty.

There are currently 2.5 million households in fuel poverty; defined by the government as those who spend 10% or more of their incomes on energy.

EDF Energy became the first of Britain's big six power suppliers to lift gas prices by 22% last week.

Scottish and Southern Energy also hinted it would raise its prices before the winter, saying it was becoming "more difficult by the day" to resist hitting us with higher bills.

Yeah it must be really difficult, especially when you are sitting on millions of pounds of profit!

Is anyone else just as angered as us by big companies continuing to screw us all over?!

Is it time uswitched energy provider?

If you are an MBNA credit card holder then you could be in for a shock when your 0% deal comes to an end.

This is because MBNA are whacking up the interest rates paid by some of you to a staggering 34.9%. 

That dear readers, is quite a lot!

And what has really annoyed many of you MBNA cardholders is that the huge rises are taking place at the same time as the promotional interest rate offers you have been enjoying, come to an end.

Well now, that’s not a surprise is it?

To make matters worse, the US-owned credit card provider will face accusations that it is hiding these high rates from those of you that have a card with them. On its statements it shows only the much lower monthly rate; not the all-important APR. 

Get help choosing the right credit card.

In addition, a number of you with Virgin credit cards (another leading brand issued by MBNA) have also been hit with similar rises. 

MBNA (which has 7 million UK customers) said that those of you on a rate of 34.9% represent "a tiny proportion of our overall customer base". A

An MBNA spokesman said: 

"We have millions of customers who are at 0% and many more millions at other low interest rates ... plus all of the offers, points and incentives that we give to cardholders. Our average rate is around 15%."

The spokesman did confirm that the APR is not disclosed on statements, though he added that it is mentioned in other correspondence:

"We disclose monthly rates on statements because this helps our customers calculate their monthly interest. Whenever we make changes to a customer's account, we always give written notice. The APR for purchases is clearly shown on this notification, so we do not believe we are trying to mislead customers."

Well, that remains to be seen doesn’t it? Do you think they are misleading people.

But it’s not just MBNA who are raising their credit card rates!

Price comparison site, Moneysupermarket.com has revealed that over 30% of us with  credit cards have seen our APR increase in the last year.  It warned that raising the interest on purchases would only make our rising food, fuel and mortgage bills harder to pay, and lengthen the time it takes us to clear our debts. 

Need debt help? Check out our debt section for advice and debt management solutions.

Moneysupermarket.com’s research showed 31% of us have had our APR hiked in the past year.

Egg, Capital One, Lloyds TSB, MBNA and Barclaycard have been the main providers changing rates for their existing customers.

So, are you an MBNA customer facing a massive rate hike? 

Why not compare other credit card deals to see if you could get a better deal?

You might well have a drinking problem when on the way home from the bar you break into the airport petrol station and fill your car with jet fuel!

No, really we are not making this up…

The San Jose Police reported that a drunken man broke into a small airport and tried to fill up his car's petrol tank with jet fuel.

Justin Rodebush was arrested by police on Sunday night for driving while intoxicated and attempted theft.

Let’s face it, he probably wasn't trying to save money…

The aviation fuel in the pumps used for aircraft and race cars, was going for $5.97 a gallon, and accessed by a credit card the local authorities said.

Jim Meide, who works in operations at the county-run Reid-Hillview Airport admitted that "We've had people try and steal gas here in the past."

Clearly not much to do in East San Jose then is there?

For 1.4 million of you, this is the year when your fixed rate mortgage expires.

Naturally, you are now thinking about remortgaging. It seem the most logical course of action – but is it?

Those of you coming to the end of your cheap 2 year fixed rate mortgages are increasingly choosing to stay on your lender's standard variable rate (SVR) while you play 'wait and see and what happens next in the mortgage market'.

Mortgage advisers have always suggested that you should remortgage as soon as you come to the end of your deal to avoid your lender's punishing SVR.

But now more of you are opting to stay put rather than pay a hefty set of remortgage fees for what is usually a high interest rate.

What you need to know about remortgaging

SVRs more popular

Data analyst Moneyfacts now says that the average 2 year fixed rate mortgage is now 6.96%; similar to a typical SVR, while some lenders have much lower SVRs like the Staffordshire building society’s at 5.99%.

A mainstream lender like the Nationwide has an SVR of 6.49%, which is lower than their current 2 year fixed rate of 6.58% plus a £599 remortgage fee.

Melanie Bien, director of mortgage broker Savills Private Finance commented on our new found desire to stay on our lender’s SVR:

'It would be unthinkable a year ago but lenders' standard variable rates now appear a viable option for those coming to the end of a fixed or discounted-rate mortgage. With rates on new fixed and discounted deals edging higher over the past year as a result of the liquidity squeeze, there is not much of a differential between these and lenders' SVRs; in some instances, the SVR may even be cheaper.'

The homeowner’s survival guide to the credit crunch

Benefits of SVRs

Richard Morea of mortgage broker London & Country. spoke about the benefits of SVR’s saying:

'Staying on SVR is not a bad position to be in for some people because there is no penalty for staying on it and you can switch away any time without paying a fee.'

'The people whom it may make sense for are those confident that rates will go down, those who are looking to move house and so don't want to be tied into a new deal, and those who have no choice.'

People in the last category include those that mortgage lenders no longer want to deal with, such as buy-to-let landlords or those who have little equity in your homes.

Abbey does still offer you a 95% LTV 5-year fixed rate mortgage – but the rate is identical to that of its SVR at 7.09%! Even if you have 10% equity, you will be offered the same rate and you will have to pay a £2,499 fee to get it!

One alternative to you switching to an SVR while you wait and see what happens with other rates, would be to move to a lifetime tracker mortgage.

HSBC and First Direct offer these, which track at 0.79% and 0.89% over base rate respectively (giving a current rate of 5.79%-5.89%). These lenders both offer help with legal and valuation fees for remortgaging and there is no fee to move away from them if you find a better deal. 

Good news for remortgages

The good news for those of you about to remortgage is that the price of fixed rate mortgages is getting lower all the time. 

Big mortgage lenders, such as Abbey, Nationwide and Halifax, have all recently re-priced and you can now get deals for under 6% if you have enough equity in your property. 

In addition, many of you going for longer-term fixed rates, as there is now little difference between the rates on these and the shorter fixes. For the first time in a while, tracker mortgages are also looking attractive deals (Nationwide has a 2 year tracker mortgage at 5.68% on an LTV of 75% or less. 

Well, it certainly seems that there are still plenty of options out there for you.

So, whether you want a remortgage, a fixed rate, an SVR mortgage or a tracker mortgage,  you should use an unbiased adviser who can search all mortgage lenders, to help you find the best mortgage for your current circumstances! 

(Please note that articles on Money Hospital do not constitute regulated financial advice. The articles are intended to provide general personal financial information. We urge you to consult an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) before making any important decisions about your finances.  All rates are correct at time of printing but are subject to change without notice)

Energy companies are not our favourite type of company are they?

And now MP's have warned that our energy markets need a radical shake-up to tackle inefficiencies and potential price fixing!

This comes amidst warnings that we need to brace ourselves to pay significantly more for our power in the future.

Hmm, where have we heard that before?

As well as the price rise warnings, the business and enterprise committee is demanding that the government and energy companies change their approach to fuel poverty in the face of high and rising gas and electricity prices. The committee began its inquiry in the wake of the rise in domestic energy prices earlier this year, and is publishing its findings as more increases are set to kick in.

It states:

"Gas and electricity bills for domestic consumers [will] rise significantly in the near future, over and above the increases already announced this year, with serious consequences for millions of households, especially the fuel-poor."

• Distorted competition?

In its report, the committee acknowledged that no one had produced any evidence suggesting collusion between energy suppliers in either the wholesale or retail markets. But it noted that in a retail market dominated by six big companies (British Gas, Scottish and Southern Energy, Scottish Power, EDF Energy, E.ON and npower) "it is easy for those players to make informed judgments about the behaviour of their competitors" and that "this alone can distort competition".

Committee chairman Peter Luff said:

"Just because we have found no evidence of collusion does not mean we have given the 'big six' energy companies a clean bill of health; far from it. It is clear there are very real problems in the energy markets at all levels, and going beyond these six companies, which need to be addressed."

The committee said that while domestic measures could not keep prices down when they were high elsewhere, it noted:

"We have concerns that the UK's energy markets are not functioning as efficiently as they should, and that UK prices may be higher than those of [other] countries."

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• EDF first to act

UK energy suppliers have been watching each other’s moves recently and EDF has been the first to act. 

Without warning, EDF has announced a huge price increase for its current customers of 22% on gas and 17% on electricity.

Most energy suppliers will now be looking to make similar increases and its likely they will announce these price increases while most of us are abroad on holiday!

Even worse, this EDF price increase is unlikely to be the end of it…

Experts are certain that a further round of price increases is inevitable either late this year, or early next year, unless there is a dramatic fall in the wholesale prices for gas and electricity.

So all the downbeat talk about the expected increases in gas and electricity prices have become reality.

The high price of oil is finally catching up with our domestic gas and electricity. Energy suppliers buy gas and electricity at wholesale prices on a forward basis, and right now the forward price for gas and electricity is at record highs.

EDF Energy's move will set the trend for the rest of the suppliers, with price increases of around 20% in the days to come. Early next year (or maybe even later this year) there will be a further price increase, which could be anywhere up to 20% on top of the previous one!!

• How you can beat the energy price rise

We will need to look very hard at our energy consumption in the future, and find ways to bring it down.  In the short term though, experts are encouraging energy consumers to sign up to a Capped Tariff, even if it means paying a little more for your energy right now.

• What is a Capped (PriceFreeze) tariff?

A capped price is just like every other tariff, except that the unit rates are guaranteed for a period (currently between 12 and 17 months).

This means that you still pay for what you use, but you won't have to accept price increases during the guarantee period.

As you might imagine, there is an approximate 10% premium on those rates, depending on your usage profile, but that is nothing if you consider that prices will shoot up by as much as 50% in the next six months.

There are currently six offers from a range of suppliers available; all of these can be reviewed through a comparison service.

But you must hurry to take advantage and accept the fact that you may be paying a little more in the short term, in exchange for the longer term affordability of your home energy supply!