Council tax arrears in the UK have reached £9.3 billion after rising by £1 billion over the past year, a 12% increase. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government reported that England accounts for £7.4 billion of the total, with Scotland at £1.6 billion and Wales at £320 million. In the past five years,…
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New data from Ofgem has shown that energy debt has risien 15% year-on-year, hitting a record high of £4.79 billion, marking a 5% increase from the previous quarter. The number of accounts repaying debt rose by 3% for electricity and 4% for gas. Average debt for those with repayment plans is now £828 for electricity…
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Nearly one in four (39%) of adults (27.2 million, as of March 2026) would struggle to cover an unexpected £300 bill, new research from Chetwood Bank has revealed. The research found that financial resilience remains under pressure, with more than half (55%) of UK adults saying they have changed their savings or financial plans in…
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A quarter of graduates can expect to be financially worse off after going to university, especially those who take creative or performing arts degrees, according to new research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). People who took their GCSEs in 2002 and went to university will earn around 40% more over their lifetimes (£320,000…
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Fraudsters and debtors who refuse to pay face tough new consequences, including direct deductions from bank accounts, as new laws come into force. People who have stopped receiving benefits but still refuse to repay money owed to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) could also be banned from driving under the new rules. The…
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Two-thirds (67%) of credit users agree that cost-of-living pressures have increased the use of credit in everyday spending, with nearly six million customers revealing they are doing so with greater intentionality than ever before, according to research by Zilch. The finding comes from the Credit Confidence Study, Zilch’s new study of over 10,000 UK adults and over 6,600 users…
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The Credit Services Association (CSA) has published a new report examining how language barriers can affect customer engagement across the sector. In particular, the research highlights that language barriers are a recurring operational issue across debt advice organisations, and support capabilities can vary. The paper titled ‘Signposting for customers who have language barriers,’explores the practical…
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New figures show more than 216,800 people were helped by free debt advice services National Debtline and Business Debtline in 2025 – a 6% increase on the previous year, as high living cost pressures continued to drive debt issues. The services – run by charity Money Advice Trust – helped people tackle more than £2.9 billion of debt in…
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Over two million Britons are reportedly in debt to illegal lenders, a rise of 500,000 since 2022, according to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). Britain is facing a growing illegal lending crisis as record numbers of cash-strapped households turn to loan sharks to cover everyday living costs. The number of people borrowing from unscrupulous…
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With the football World Cup just around the corner, new research from MoneySuperMarket has revealed that almost a quarter (23%) of Brits expect to rely on credit cards or borrowing to fund World Cup-related spending. The survey of UK adults revealed it won’t just be the beer leaving Brits with a hangover this summer, with…
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British consumers are among the most pessimistic in Europe about their finances in the year ahead, as instability and conflict in the Middle East tops the list of the biggest financial concerns across the continent according to new Europe-wide research from CRIF. The data reveals that half of all European consumers (50%) cite Middle East instability…
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One in four (25%) adults borrowing money from their parents for bills such as rent or insurance admit they don’t always tell their partner about the extra help, even though they share the bill, according to new polling data conducted by Compare the Market. This proportion rises to a third (33%) among Gen Z and…
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A fifth of adults in the UK are feeling constant ‘financial regret’ over their spending habits, with pressures felt particularly strongly by younger generations, according to research from Hymans Robertson Personal Wealth. The poll found that more than a fifth (21%) of people said they regret overspending on “consumables” such as clothes and meals out,…
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