"Hello. I wonder whether you could explain something on my bill..."

A million extra households have been pushed into fuel poverty in the space of just a year as rising prices cripple family budgets.

Nine million customers will see their gas bills rise by an average of 18 per cent next month, after British Gas announced massive increases in its energy prices.

british gas's price rises of 18 per cent for gas and 16 per cent for electricity, announced yesterday and coming into effect on 18 August, will push more families into fuel poverty, Consumer Focus has warned. "This price rise will send a shock wave across the country," its chief executive, Mike O'Connor, said.

Millions of households will see their utility bills break the £100 a month barrier after British Gas today announced price hikes of up to 24%.

British Gas is reportedly planning to announce price rises of as much as 20 per cent, adding more than £100 to the typical monthly bill.

British Gas has been fined £1m after it miscalculated how much of the electricity that it supplies to its business customers had come from renewable sources.

Thousands of teens all over the country have used nepotism, bribery and giant cojones to land themselves work experience this past week – it's part of the GCSE syllabus. But don't bother asking any of them how it went, unless you are fluent in grunt.

The Body Shop's summer sale began earlier this week with 50 per cent savings on hundreds of items in store and online. The best place to check them all out is http://ind.pn/jWVsg2, where you'll find products categorised by price and style and where you can also claim the slightly confusingly-titled 'free standard delivery for just £1'.