Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), the short-term variant of retail point of sale finance, has been growing at a pace in the UK, with the now almost ubiquitous presence of options from Klarna, Clearpay, PayPal or smaller firms at online fashion store checkouts. Concerns about BNPL aren’t completely new, but in recent weeks a Twitter-based…
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Despite spending considerable amounts of money on operational resilience, COVID-19 is shining a light on a chronic under investment in IT systems which is now failing customers. Multiple independent sources have conferred to elanev that UK lenders are failing to adequately account for regulator mandated payment holidays in response to COVID-19. Details of failures at…
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For collections teams, the coronavirus outbreak has created a paradox. How to deal simultaneously with escalating volumes, changing FCA guidelines and high customer expectations – all while experiencing significant frontline staff shortages. It’s undoubtedly a mammoth task. So where should you begin? Rapid changes to millions of people’s incomes, triggered by the outbreak, mean huge…
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Water companies need to build a stronger relationship with their customers to reduce the risk of households missing out on vital help with their water bills and other assistance when they hit hard times according to the Consumer Council for Water’s (CCW) annual survey. About one in ten customers told CCW their water bill was…
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The number of complaints resolved by the Energy Ombudsman increased by 25% last year to nearly 57,000, as consumer demand for the service grew. Billing was the number-one type of complaint handled by the Ombudsman, followed by payments/debt in second place and customer service in third. There was a 26% year-on-year increase in the number…
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The rapid adoption of new digital skills and technology by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) during lockdown could lead to an additional £4.1 billion in UK GDP1 each year over the long-term, according to new analysis developed by financial management software provider Intuit QuickBooks and Oxford Economics. The findings come three months after The Digital…
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Borrowing money from friends and family has reduced significantly since 2019, and even more so following lockdown, with a 58% decrease in borrowing, and a 52% decrease in lending, since March of last year according to new research by Lloyds Bank. According to the latest How Britain Lives research from borrowing significant sums of money from friends…
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Fleet leasing specialists Alphabet (GB) has announced the appointment of Clive Buhagiar as the new interim Chief Operating Officer. Buhagiar takes over the role from Uwe Hildinger, who will be joining Alphabet Germany as their new Chief Executive Officer in August. As interim COO, Buhagiar will be responsible for the whole Operational Function of Alphabet…
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Court Enforcement Services has announced that Michael Whitaker promoted to a newly created senior role as Director of Business Development. He will report directly to Wayne Whitford, Director. In his new position, Whitaker will oversee the management of all aspects of the Business Development team. This senior role involves developing the team and providing strategic…
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More than four-fifths of UK medium-sized businesses can only continue trading for up to nine months with current funding arrangements, according to new research from accountancy and business advisory firm, BDO. BDO’s second ‘Re-thinking the Economy ‘survey of 500 medium-sized businesses across the UK reveals that medium-sized businesses have each taken an average of £21…
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