Survey: residents primarily pay electricity and mobile phone bills – Family, welfare

Every fifth resident (20%), who has to make at least one regular payment per month, would primarily pay the electricity bill in case of financial difficulties. A very equal number of respondents would choose to pay the mobile phone bill (13%), the monthly mortgage loan payment (12%), the rent payment to the landlord (12%) and the heating bill (11%), according to the population survey conducted by the “Credit Information Bureau”. *

Among those surveyed who have to make a monthly mortgage or rent payment, these bills have been the highest priority, 65% and 62% respectively.

“Various household electronics and mobile communications have become an integral part of our daily lives, and no one wants to be left without electricity or communication options, which is probably why these payments have come to the fore. In addition, disconnection of electricity or mobile communications can happen relatively promptly. Perhaps the payment of electricity bills is also a priority because all major electricity service providers transfer data to the “Credit Information Bureau”. This means that not paying the bill not only threatens to be left without electricity, but also negatively affects the credit rating, making it difficult to get new loans or services in the future. On the other hand, for those who have mortgage loan obligations or do not live in their own property, it is essential to provide themselves with a “roof over their head” and they do not want to risk it unnecessarily,” informs Intars Mikelsons, “Credit Information Bureaua” executive director.

In the age group from 50 to 60 years old, paying the electricity bill (28%) and mobile phone bill (19%) is significantly more important for residents than for other age groups, and for young people from 18 to 29 years old – paying rent to the landlord (26%). While the electricity bill is a priority for those living in the countryside (34%), the rent payment to the landlord (19%) and the heating bill (16%) for Riga residents.

Relatively less often than in the case of primary financial difficulties, respondents who pay for certain services would pay water, internet, gas, television, landline telephone and other bills.

Most often, the respondents mentioned that they have to pay the electricity bill (87%), the mobile phone bill (87%) and the internet bill (81%), followed by the water bill (74%), the apartment or house management bill (63%) every month. and the heating bill (62%). In comparison to the 2015 study, residents significantly less often stated that they have to pay the television bill, the monthly payment of the consumer loan issued by the bank, the fixed telephone bill and the monthly payment of the student loan.

As I. Miķelsons points out, the greater the number of service providers who submit data about their customers, the more accurate the information on the solvency of private individuals will be, and this will be a benefit for both companies and customers: “If the service provider sees in our database that a person is behind on the electricity bill, which a large part of society considers most essential, there is a possibility that his bill will also be delayed. On the other hand, the more accurate the data will be, the more protected customers will be from reckless credit commitments.”

* The study was conducted by the company “Norstat” in February 2024, surveying 1,000 Latvian residents aged between 18 and 60.

For reference

AS “Kredītinformacijas Birojs” (KIB) is a licensed credit bureau that currently manages the largest database of credit histories of natural and legal persons in the country. KIB operates in accordance with the Law on Credit Information Bureaus of Latvia, the shareholders are the largest commercial banks in Latvia. The company belongs to one of the largest groups of international credit information service providers, “Creditinfo Group”. Wider – www.kib.lv

KIB