What to do if you can’t afford to pay your tax bill

6th December 2017 Industry opinion |

If you can’t afford to pay your tax bill in one go, the first thing to do is to make sure that the debt is reduced as far as possible by filing all outstanding tax returns, appealing against any penalties and making a claim to reduce payments on account where possible. If you still can’t…

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Six strategies to avoid crippled Christmas cashflow

6th December 2017 Industry opinion |

The Christmas period is almost upon us. It’s a time to be merry and dispense peace and goodwill to all men!   It’s also, as this business report article on how Christmas can cripple cash flow, points out, one of the most dangerous times of the year to experience cashflow problems. How peaceful will you be…

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Why you need to act now to get paid on time this Christmas

6th December 2017 Industry opinion |

For many businesses, December is a challenging month when it comes to credit control and cash flow can become severely stretched as a result. With so much to think about over the Christmas period, staff taking holiday and postal and processing delays, it’s not uncommon for payments to be missed. With a little forward planning…

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Four in ten grandparents help their families to finance Christmas

6th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

A new study from Scottish Widows’ independent think tank, The Centre for the Modern Family, has found that four in ten (43%) grandparents help their families to fund the festive season, spending a collective £932 million. More than a third (36%) of them make sacrifices to compensate for the extra expenditure at Christmas.The Silver Supporters report, the…

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Financial fraud cost rises to £10bn

6th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

Latest figures released by The Public Accounts Committee show that online fraud most is now the most prevalent crime in England and Wales.  The Public Accounts Committee report said the Home Office cannot solve the issue, which has an estimated cost of £10bn, on its own. It is thought that only 20% of online fraud is…

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Average Funeral shortfall rises by 11%

6th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

The number of people dying without making any specific provision to pay for their funeral has risen by 11%1according to SunLife’s Cost of Dying report. The average cost of the cremation or burial, including the fees for the funeral director, the doctor, and the minister or celebrant is now £4,078. The send-off costs (order sheets,…

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Provident car loan unit to face FCA investigation

6th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

Moneybarn (owned by Provident Financial) has been informed that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has commenced an investigation in relation to the processes applied to customer affordability assessments for vehicle finance and the treatment of customers in financial difficulties. It is thought that Moneybarn has around 50,000 customers. In a statement, Provident Financial Group said “it…

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UK households to spend over £20bn celebrating Christmas

6th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

UK households are set to spend around £20 billion celebrating Christmas. According to new research commissioned by GoCompare Money, this Christmas the average British household expects to spend £726 on presents, parties, feasting, gifts and decorations. For UK households as a whole – that equates to £20.3bn. Gifts for loved ones represent just over half of…

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Aire announces partnership with N Brown

6th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

Credit reference specialist, Aire has announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with online retailer N Brown. The new agreement will see Aire provide its augmented credit assessment technology to support N Brown, which operates online stores such as JD Williams, in analysing the full picture of online customers and the true benefits and risks that come with…

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Two million stuck in permanent overdraft debt

6th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

Over two million people in the UK are stuck in a constant cycle of persistent overdraft debt, according to a new report – ‘Stuck in the Red’ – by StepChange Debt Charity. The report also highlights evidence of unaffordable lending in the overdraft market and cases where banks have failed to offer their customers a…

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Startline Motor Finance secures new £250 million credit facility

6th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

Startline Motor Finance has secured a new £250 million credit facility from J.P. Morgan. The Glasgow-based company is known for its flexible approach to motor finance. CEO Paul Burgess said “We have been talking to several major financial institutions for some time to secure our next funding facility. Interest was widespread but we are very…

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Jaywing launches new AI risk technology product

6th December 2017 Consumer Collections |

Risk and data science specialist Jaywing, has launched Archetype, a new risk technology product that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and deep neural nets to help lenders generate transparent statistical models and predict almost any outcome on almost any data set. Archetype uses true AI to generate more powerful models, significantly reducing the time…

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