More than half (58%) of adults who are single or live alone say they could not cope with an unexpected bill of £850 according to new research by Aviva According to the research, people who live alone spend on average a little over £630 a month on essential costs, such as food/ groceries, transport, council…
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New research by Compare the Market reveals the true scale of unexpected bills across the UK, showing that “surprise” expenses are actually a highly common and costly part of everyday life. With almost seven in ten (69%) people caught off guard by significant surprise expenses, the data highlights how regularly these costs occur and the…
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Three million households are being forced to skip meals and cut family visits, according to new research from Which? Which?’s latest Consumer Insight Tracker shows that households across the country are having to take more and more drastic measures to mitigate rising costs. In the month to 10th April, analysis found consumer confidence fell to…
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New research by Age UK has found that 3.4 million (28%) pensioners, more than one in four, are struggling financially, and nearly half of them have been struggling for three years or more. Notably, a fifth (22%) of those struggling, equivalent to 740,000 aged 66+ said they have been struggling financially for more than five…
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A survey of 2,000 UK consumers found a clear generational divide in financial literacy, with 18-24-year-olds consistently less confident and less informed than older age groups on how credit works according to research by Creditspring. Just 45% of young adults said they understand what ‘APR’ means, compared with 67% of over-55s. Fewer than half (46%)…
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New research from debt management firm Lowell has revealed that on average, it takes families until mid-April (3.8 months) to clear their festive debt. The survey found that 74% of UK families relied on credit cards and Buy-Now-Pay-Later schemes to help cover the cost of Christmas. While some families have the luxury of being able…
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While the use of AI in payments management continues to grow, the UK is proving slower to adopt AI solutions than its European peers, with skills gaps and regulatory uncertainty slowing progress according to new research by Intrum. Intrum’s European Payment Report, based on a survey of over 8,000 businesses in 20 markets, is produced…
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Latest monthly statistics from the Insolvency Service have shown that business insolvencies and personal insolvencies rose in Northern Ireland in March 2026. The data showed that there were 35 company insolvencies registered in Northern Ireland, 21% higher than in March 2025. The insolvencies comprised of 25 compulsory liquidations, nine CVLs and one CVA. There were…
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The Credit Services Association (CSA) has set out ten challenges for how public sector recoveries and collections could evolve, to better support people in financial difficulty and improve outcomes for taxpayers. The new paper, published by the CSA, is titled ‘Ten key discussions in the debate around modernising public sector collections.’ The trade body for…
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The Government has announced that is it modernising rules around council tax debt collection, as the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government responded to their modernisation consultation. The Government announced that the timeframe before a person loses the right to pay in instalments will be extended from one missed payment to three, and at…
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Rising energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East will cause a drop in living standards for households, according to new analysis by the Resolution Foundation Despite some lower-income households receiving a long-overdue real-terms increase in their benefits, we now estimate – based on market-forecasts for the rise in energy prices consistent with…
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Neither the Covid-19 pandemic nor the cost-of-living crisis produced significant deterioration in average collections on established paying portfolios, according to analysis by credit management firm Intrum. Using advanced econometric techniques, Intrum examined the performance of proprietary portfolios of defaulted debt between 2016 and 2025. The analysis examined the influence of macroeconomic variables (such as real…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 27% in February 2026. Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Geraldine Kilkelly, Director of Research and Chief Economist at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said “The second…
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