Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
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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Latest figures from the Bank of England have shown lending on credit cards and loans have fallen to an 18-month low. The Bank of England figures showed that unsecured consumer credit grew by 9.6% year on year in October, down from 9.8% in September. Consumers added £1.5bn to the pile of consumer debt, which rose to…
Read moreThe Financial Conduct Authority has released a new report on illegal money lenders. The report titled “Shining a light on illegal money lending: consumer experiences of unauthorised lending in the UK” highlights the real-life consequences of reducing access to responsible, regulated, short-term credit. In a statement, the FCA said “Last year we conducted research with our…
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The effects of a ‘hard’ Brexit will be decisive for the innovation capacity and competitiveness of the British automotive industry according to new research by Coface. After an exceptional peak in production of vehicles recorded in mid-2016 (1.02 million unit sales, up 8.5% for the January-August period compared to the same period in 2015), 2017…
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The UK is on course for the longest period of falling living standards since records began in the 1950s, with the current crunch forecast to last longer than the post-crisis income squeeze, the Resolution Foundation has said in its Budget analysis. The report Freshly Squeezed highlights the unprecedented scale of the economic downgrade handed down to the…
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Consumers’ confidence in their personal finances has fallen to its lowest level in 30 months, according to the latest Lloyds Bank Spending Power Report. In the monthly Ipsos MORI survey of over 2,000 bank account holders in the UK, those who said they felt positive about their personal finances in October fell by 3pp, from…
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Recognising the recent concerns raised both in Parliament and by third sector organisations about universal credit, the Government have announced that they in the Autumn Budget that they will: Offer an interest-free advance of up to a month’s worth of universal credit within five days for those who need it and who have an underlying…
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Latest figures released by the Building Society Association (BSA) show that building societies approved 29% of all new mortgages in Q3 2017, and savers deposited £1.3 billion in building society accounts. Highlights from the figures show: Mortgage lending Q3 2017 Building societies approved 114,793 new mortgage loans, up 4% on the 110,216 mortgage loans approved…
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Debt advice provider, Payplan has called on the Chancellor to help those struggling to get on the housing ladder with the announcement of the budget this week. Jane Clack, Money Advisor at PayPlan said “In Wednesday’s announcement, I would like to see the Chancellor think more about how the budget can help people who are already…
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The Treasury Committee has launched a new inquiry into household finances. The Committee will take a broad look at the state of UK household balance sheets, including whether households are saving adequately in the current economic environment. It will scrutinise problematic indebtedness, inter-generational issues, lifetime financial planning, and the effectiveness of the market in financing solutions…
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Following on from the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee news that is has voted to increase interest rates by 0.25% to 0.5% – the first rate rise since 2007. The credit and collections industry has responded to the rate change. Joanna Elson OBE, Chief Executive of the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs…
Read moreThe latest results Insolvency statistics from The Insolvency Service for Quarter July to September 2017 (Q3 2017) indicate that total individual insolvencies increased, driven primarily by an increase in individual voluntary arrangements, (IVAs) which reached a record high. Personal insolvencies rose 11% from Q2 to Q3 2017 and are 8% higher than this time last…
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UK Finance has published its latest update on lending figures. The figures showed that Economic growth was subdued in the first half of 2017, and estimates of growth in the three months to September are only expected to be slightly higher, at around 0.4%. This compares with 0.3% growth in the first and second quarter…
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