Searches for remortgages on the rise

31st October 2019 Consumer Collections |

Remortgages as a share of total searches have risen 5.3% in the last year, new analysis from Experian has revealed. Over a quarter (28.7%) of September’s mortgages searches via Experian’s comparison service were for remortgages compared to 23.4% in September last year. Correspondingly, the proportion of first-time buyer mortgage searches fell by 5.3% to 55.3%…

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Personal insolvency levels approaching highest in a decade

31st October 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Insolvency Service has published its latest England & Wales insolvency statistics for Q3 2019 (July-September) indicating that personal insolvencies (seasonally adjusted) increased by 0.6% from Q3 2019 compared to Q2 2019, and rose by 22.7% compared to Q3 2018. The figures showed that personal insolvencies are on the increase with 30,879 individual insolvencies in…

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Unexpected payments cost consumers £17bn

30th October 2019 Consumer Collections |

Unexpected payments cost consumers £17 billion every year according to Lowell, which commissioned the research. The research also showed that one in five were left in debt after an unexpected bill, with a tenth having to move back in with their parents because they couldn’t afford to pay for their home. John Pears, UK Managing…

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Money Statistics: October 2019

29th October 2019 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for October 2019: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,650 billion at the end of August 2019. This is up from £1,604 billion at the end of August 2018, an extra £876 per UK adult over the year. The average total…

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Bank of Gran and Grandad help a third of young buyers

28th October 2019 Consumer Collections |

A significant number (32%) of 18-34 year olds have had financial help from grandparents to get on the property ladder according to new research by Trussle. Nearly one-in-four prospective buyers expect help from their grandparents, whilst the research also identifies a growing trend of assistance with just 3% of over 55s previously receiving help from…

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Credit card spending increases by 10.1% year on year

25th October 2019 Consumer Collections |

Credit card spending in September 2019 reached was 10.1 per cent higher than in September 2018 according to the latest Household Finance Update from UK Finance, with over £11 billion spent on cards. The level of credit card borrowing grew by 3% in the year to September 2019. Repayments have remained in line with credit…

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Scottish personal insolvency figures show minor increase

24th October 2019 Consumer Collections |

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) has released official statistics reporting personal insolvencies in Scotland for the second quarter (July to September 2019) of 2019-20. The number of personal insolvencies (bankruptcies and protected trust deeds) in Scotland fell by 1.7% in July-September 2019 compared with the previous quarter (April-June 2019), but rose by 12.6% compared with the…

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Consumers say banks should track personal data to help avoid debt problems

22nd October 2019 Consumer Collections |

Consumers say banks should track their personal data to help them avoid debt problems according to a new report published by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, supported by Barclays. It explores how banks and building societies could monitor customer data to spot signs that people are at risk of falling into debt, such…

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Self employed borrowers safer to lend to than first time buyers

21st October 2019 Consumer Collections |

Latest research from Kensington Mortgages, the specialist mortgage lender, reveals that homeowners were borrowing more in the second quarter of 2019. Broken down by type, the figures show that self-employed borrowers are more conservative than first-time buyers. The average self-employed mortgage customer in the UK could have taken out a mortgage 29% larger than the…

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FCA data shows rise in complaints for first half of 2019

18th October 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the complaints figures for regulated firms for the first half of 2019. The data showed an increase in complaints from 3.91m in the second half (H2) of 2018 to 4.29m for the first half (H1) of 2019. The increase in complaints was mainly driven by a 34% increase…

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Over half of mortgage products have 40-year term

17th October 2019 Consumer Collections |

More than half (57%) of residential mortgage products currently available have a standard maximum mortgage term of up to 40 years according to new research from Moneyfacts. The figures show that 40-year mortgage products stand at 2,782, up from 2,412 products (55.55%) this time last year. Darren Cook, finance expert at Moneyfacts.co.uk, said “Historically, a…

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Millions of consumers have no savings to fall back on

16th October 2019 Consumer Collections |

A third (33%) of consumers say they do not regularly save any money, according to new research by Lloyds Bank. Part of Lloyds Bank’s ‘How Britain Lives’ study, the UK-wide analysis conducted in partnership with YouGov, also found that 7% of UK adults have no savings whatsoever to fall back on if they lost their…

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First-time buyer figures at highest levels since 2007

16th October 2019 Consumer Collections |

The number of first-time buyers in August reached the highest level since just before the financial crisis, according to the latest mortgage trends data by UK Finance, with 35,010 mortgage completions for new buyers – an increase of 0.7% on August last year. During the month there were 18,640 new remortgages with additional borrowing, down…

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