Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Following the accumulation of record levels of overdue debt as the result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has successfully reduced the overdue debt balance to £39.4 billion (bn) as at December 2021, a reduction of £18.1bn from the March 2021 year-end results that Kroll reported in November. However, the underlying…
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It is increasingly clear that the cost of living crisis will have a seismic effect not only on individual households but many businesses. With inflation at a thirty-year high and skyrocketing energy prices, SMEs face a new threat to their futures. The fact that this is occurring so shortly after coronavirus makes matters worse. Those…
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It seems that hardly a day passes without another frightening statistic appearing in the press detailing fraud losses by government, individuals or businesses. The scale of the problem (and the inadequacy of the resources devoted to combatting it) is routinely described as mind-boggling, staggering and a host of similar adjectives. Fraud is clearly not going…
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At the start of the pandemic, we feared the worst. We expected to see increased levels of default from high-income earners with perfect credit. We assumed that some would lose their jobs and run out of savings. We also rightly assumed that levels of debt amongst those who are unable to withstand one adverse financial…
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Facing the sharpest decline in living standards since records began, people in the UK are already leaning into credit and debt to meet the everyday challenges of the cost of living crisis. As the UK’s households grapple with multiple sharply rising prices, many will find themselves defaulting to greater reliance on credit and increased indebtedness.…
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The cost-of-living crisis has been ramping up and doesn’t show signs of slowing down anytime soon. The impact of rising energy costs, increased inflation and benefits cuts is hitting millions of residents across the UK. With more individuals likely to fall behind on their bills, collections operations will need to ramp up activity in order…
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Think about this time 4 years ago, if you read the words “Automation” in the same sentence as “Affordability Assessments” you would wonder about what crazy future worlds the article is referencing. Affordability assessments in days gone by were mostly conducted over a phone conversation that took at least 5 – 10 mins and more…
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The Times has reported that the Financial Conduct Authority is looking at ways of encouraging firms to lend to the most vulnerable borrowers. The regulator wants to know how it could reduce any barriers to the future affordable and sustainable supply of credit to customers who have few borrowing options. There are no simple solutions,…
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Worrying indicators for the UK’s finances have come into full effect over December and January with households facing soaring bills, according to the February 2022 Money Statistics, produced by The Money Charity. Forecasts of a challenging winter for household budgets have come to fruition in the early months of 2022. With the inflation rate (CPI)…
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A perfect storm of inflation, increased energy costs, and the impact of interest rate and tax rises is contributing to what is being widely referred to as the cost of living crisis. Charities have said that the real term cost on customers is pushing many into serious financial difficulties and some even risk homelessness. Banks,…
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The challenging direction of travel for the UK’s finances continued in the closing months of the year, with few indications of potential positives and some previously hopeful signs easing off. Evidence of the challenging winter ahead for household budgets continued to be seen as the UK came towards the end of 2021. With price rises…
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As collections systems become more digitised to automate as much of the customer journey as possible, we increasingly hear the concept of an agentless environment…but is it a reality? How We Got Here The explosion of consumer credit saw an increasing need for dedicated credit control. Would you believe that initially, this meant dictating letters…
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Some people say they love change. But mostly in job interviews. If we’re really honest with ourselves, lots of change can make even the most optimistic and resilient amongst us that little bit nervous. But none of us can avoid it, especially now. Business as usual isn’t usual anymore as life and work are taking…
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