Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Parents prepare their children for plenty of milestones before they turn 18, from helping them learn to drive to supporting them to apply to university or get their first job. But there is one important life skill that can easily be overlooked: how to manage their money. Research by Moneyfarm found more than half (58%)…
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Research from MoneySuperMarket estimates that households will spend an average of £1,681.12 on Christmas this year. That is equivalent to more than half (54%) of the estimated average monthly UK household income. The hefty sum includes £144.43 on groceries, £76.85 on festive drinks and £80.58 on travel expenses,showing how the cost of Christmas quickly adds…
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More than four in ten people struggling with debt wait over a year before seeking help, according to research from StepChange Debt Charity and PRA Group. The study of more than 1,600 debt management plan client, found that 43% worried about their finances for more than a year before seeking advice. Embarrassment was the most common…
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Consumer confidence has suffered its sharpest month-on-month fall since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest data from GfK. No single factor explained the slump and pointed instead to rising inflation, the conflict in the Middle East and the broader squeeze on household budgets. GfK’s long-running Consumer Confidence Index was down 11 points to -24…
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The share of workers on low pay failed to fall for the first time in 15 years, and in fact rose slightly last year, the Resolution Foundation has said in response to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE). ASHE is a large ONS survey of businesses and provides valuable detail on earnings…
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New research from the Centre for Responsible Credit has found that around 3.5 million low- to middle-income households in Britain, 44% of those who use credit, cannot afford both their essential living costs and their credit repayments. For these households, the median budget shortfall is around £633 a month. The report analyses Bank of England/NMG…
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Despite the cost-of-living squeeze, new Nationwide research reveals that almost one in five (20%) 25–34-year-olds say they plan to “go big” this Halloween and spend more than they did last year, even though nearly a quarter (24%) of the same age group say they expect to spend less because of rising living costs. Among those…
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New analysis from Lloyds Banking Group finds that financial empowerment, having the confidence, capability and control to make informed financial decisions has no single UK postcode. Across the country, people are using digital tools and AI for different priorities, from budgeting and debt reduction to investing, saving and planning, with distinct regional patterns emerging. Nationally,…
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More than half (52%) of adults aged 25-55 have experienced a major life event, such as redundancy, serious illness, bereavement, or relationship breakdown, in the last three years, according to new research commissioned by the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline. These events often have significant financial consequences, with one in five…
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New research by the Personal Finance Research Centre, University of Bristol, in partnership with StepChange Debt Charity and funded by NatWest Group, has revealed acute housing pressures, debt and lasting pandemic impacts affecting under-35s. According to the report, almost half (44%) of StepChange clients aged 18-34 surveyed have borrowed money to cover their housing costs.…
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Fewer than one in ten (9%) adults with living parents have discussed how finances should be managed if they developed a condition such as dementia. This is despite more than half (53%) saying they would feel comfortable having the conversation, according to new research from Nationwide. A lack of preparedness means that nearly a quarter…
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Latest Bank of England data (Quarter 3 2026) has shown that credit card defaults increased in the three months to August, with banks and building societies expecting further rises by November, highlighting growing risks in unsecured lending. Within the overall figure, demand for credit card lending was unchanged. Mortgage defaults fell slightly and are expected…
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The past five years of a near-continuous cost of living crisis have caused the real incomes of typical working-age households to fall rather than grow, leaving them £2,900 (7.9 per cent) worse off this year compared to a world of normal inflation, according to new analysis published by the Resolution Foundation. The report Counting the…
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