Arrears and Recoveries

Possessions and arrears decrease

A report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has outlined statistics indicating that the number of mortgages in arrears continued to fall in the second quarter of this year and are now at its lowest level since records began more than 20 years ago. The CML data shows that at the end of June there were 92,500…

University graduates debt continues to increase

Latest statistics from The Money Charity have revealed that English students owe more than ever before. The average debt for the graduates who entered repayment this year was £24,640, up from £21,170 in 2015. Due to incremental rises to tuition fees and maintenance loans, the sum owed by students has risen steadily for the past decade,…

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposes cap on customer debt collection contact

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),an independent agency of the United States government,  has suggested capping the amount of times debt collectors can contact consumers. The proposal will affect more than 6,000 debt collection firms in the US.

The Money Advice Service announces start date for new initiative

The Money Advice Service has announced that the first Standard Financial Statement (SFS), will go live on 1st March 2017, marking the beginning of a transition period during which creditors and debt advice providers will move to using the new format. This will be the first time that all major debt advice providers, creditors, and other…

Latest Insolvency Service statistics reveal Personal Insolvencies have gone up

The latest results Insolvency statistics from The Insolvency Service for Quarter 2 (April to June 2016) reveal that Personal Insolvency numbers have gone up. The main findings of the report were: Total individual insolvencies increased for the fourth consecutive quarter, driven primarily by an increase in individual voluntary arrangements Debt relief orders also increased, because of…

FCA outlines plan to boost authorisation procedure

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has outlined plans to improve the authorisation process for consumer credit firms. Figures shared by the FCA indicate they have closed 87% of applications with 99.6% within the statutory deadline. The FCA have issued the following commitments to firms applying for authorisation: The FCA will tell you as soon as your application…

Staffordshire and Black Country councils owed tens of millions

Government figures reveal that tens of millions of pounds in unpaid council tax and business rates is owed to councils across the Black Country and Staffordshire. The figures owed are as follows: Walsall £20.3 million Sandwell £23.3 million Wolverhampton £14.7 million Dudley £8.7 million Cannock £6 million Stafford £4.4 million  

Rossendales confirms FCA authorisation

Marston Holdings (Marston) has confirmed that subsidiary Rossendales has been granted full authorisation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Rossendales is the second Marston business to become fully authorised. Burlington Credit was authorised in 2014.  

Bailiffs, Government and Councils ranked most unfair in dealing with debt

A report by charity Stepchange has found that  bailiffs, government departments and bailiffs are among the most unfair when dealing with people in problem debt. The report titled Creditor and debt collector conduct: What’s making debt problems worse? also found that some creditors are failing to take vulnerabilities such as depression and other ongoing mental health conditions into…

Borrowing risks to households following Brexit

The Bank of England Financial Policy Committee report published its Financial Stability report, which identified “the high level of UK household indebtedness.”   

Councils too quick to send in bailiffs, says Citizens Advice

Freedom Finance new appointments

Freedom Finance appoints Michael Davidson and Neil Farrar-Smith to their management team.  Davidson joins as Business Development Director. Farrar-Smith has been appointed as Director of Business Finance. Earlier this year Brian Brodie joined Freedom Finance as the Group’s Chief Executive.

One in ten homeowners aged over 55 still have interest-only mortgages

Research from over-60s property experts Homewise suggests that up to one in ten over-55s homeowners across the UK are still paying interest-only mortgages therefore facing the prospect of clearing their debt when the deal runs out.