Lowell hints at IPO as growth continues

24th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

European Debt Purchaser, Lowell, has announced its latest quarterly results showing another positive quarter of growth for the period 1 July to 30 September 2017. Highlights from the results include: 21% y-o-y increase in Cash Income to £152m 12% y-o-y increase in Cash EBITDA to £78m 18% y-o-y increase in Estimated Remaining Collections (ERC) to…

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Council commits to ending use of bailiffs

24th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

Hammersmith & Fulham Council (H&F Council) have announced that we will no longer use bailiffs to collect council tax debt from 1st April 2018. Further to the council’s announcement that it is working 1st Credit, earlier in the year, on a new, ethical-focused debt collection practice. The brief for the new project is to save…

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FEATURE: Is your contact centre supporting your vulnerability strategy?

22nd November 2017 Consumer Collections |

Since 2010, household debt in the UK has increased by 7% and there are growing concerns that this figure will continue to rise given the sharp uptick in borrowing on loans, overdrafts and credit cards. With the total consumer debt standing at £200 billion and growing at over 10% annually, an increasing number of households…

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South Lanarkshire Council to write off £6 million debt

20th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

South Lanarkshire Council has written off more than £6 million in unpaid revenue. Councillors at the local authority rubberstamped the move at a finance committee last week. Among that amount is over £4.5m in unpaid non-domestic rates. The sums relate to non-payment of rates from 2014 until this year. Debts totaling just over £2.541m from…

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Six million consumers see Credit Card limit increased without consent

20th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

People who don’t think they can pay their debts are being given thousand of pounds of credit they haven’t asked for, Citizens Advice has warned. Fresh evidence from the charity suggests that 6 million people have had their credit limit increased in the last year without their consent – and 32% of those showing signs…

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Cabot completes Wescot acquisition and cancels IPO plans

17th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

Cabot Credit Management has completed the acquisition of Wescot Credit Services , a leading UK contingency debt collection and business process outsourcing (BPO) services business. Ken Stannard, Chief Executive Officer, Cabot said “We are delighted to welcome Wescot to our company and we are excited this acquisition has coincided with winning a major outsourcing contract…

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Scottish Council writes off £2m in council tax

16th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

Fife Council wrote off more than £2million in unpaid council tax last year. Latest figures show that Scotland’s third-largest local authority had written off £2,106,525 during 2016/17, up from £1,879,113 in 2015/16. Les Robertson, head of revenue and commercial services at Fife Council, said: “In Fife we have seen year-on-year improvements in the overall collection…

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Call for banks to support vulnerable customers

14th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

UK Finance has responded to reports on a call from Macmillan Cancer Research for a change in the law to ensure banks do more to support vulnerable customers – putting a legal and moral obligation on banks to negotiate solutions like mortgage holidays or revised payment plans. UK Finance said in a statement: “Banks and…

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24% rise in Consumer CCJs

13th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

The number of county court judgments (CCJs) against consumers in England and Wales rose during the third quarter according to figures released by Registry Trust today. In Q3 2017, 317,793 consumer CCJs were registered in England and Wales rising 24 percent compared with the same period of the previous year. This followed the general trend…

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Second charge mortgage repossessions decrease by 26%

10th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that the number of second charge mortgage repossessions in Q3 2017 was 23, 25.8% lower than in the same quarter in 2016. The annual rate of second charge mortgage repossessions as a percentage of average outstanding agreements at the end of Q3 2017 was…

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Italian debt purchaser acquires €600m in NPLs from Intesa Sanpaolo

10th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

Italian debt purchaser MBCredit Solutions has completed the acquisition of the “Sherazade” portfolio from Intesa Sanpaolo, comprising a stock of unsecured non-performing exposures (NPEs) with a nominal value of approx €600million. The agreement consolidates the Mediobanca Group company’s leadership position in the retail unsecured NPE segment, with MBCredit Solutions now a leading player in the…

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Ofgem caps prepayment meter warrant charges for consumers in debt

10th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

Ofgem has announced a £150 cap on charges for installing pre-payment meters under warrant for customers in debt, and banned charges for the most vulnerable. Suppliers can apply to the court and install a prepayment meter under warrant, as a last resort when customers fall into debt. Under current rules, suppliers can charge warrant costs…

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Mortgage arrears falls in third quarter

9th November 2017 Consumer Collections |

The number of mortgages in arrears of 2.5 percent or more of the outstanding balance fell again in the third quarter of 2017, but cases of possession edged upwards from a historically low level according to new figures released by UK Finance. At 88,300, the number of loans in arrears was two per cent lower…

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