Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Outside of mortgage borrowing, consumers borrowed no additional consumer credit in July, according to Bank of England (BOE) figures, with the sum households paid back roughly equivalent to what they were loaned. The figures compare with an average of £1.2 billion of consumer credit borrowed per month in the two years to February 2020. Economists…
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Payments using contactless cards have increased as the UK emerged from lockdowns and consumers started spending again according to latest UK Finance figures. The number of purchases made in May via contactless technology doubled compared with the same month a year earlier and was up 50% in May 2019 as contactless payments accounted for 49…
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‘Covi Inflation’ is pricing many consumers out of summer spending according to research by Credit Karma. Consumers that planned on treating themselves to staycations, meals out and gym memberships are being priced out of the market, as costs of popular ‘post-lockdown items’ rise at more than double the pace of an already steep inflation rate.…
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New research by Hodge Bank has found that 65% of over 50s are using technology more than they ever have, with almost half feeling they’re a lot more confident with their IT skills since the pandemic. The survey also showed that those aged 65 and over also embraced technology to chat to family and friends. More…
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The Government Debt Management Function has launched a Vulnerability Toolkit which ensures ‘vulnerable’ citizens who are in debt to the public sector are handled with compassion and support by frontline staff. The new guidance will be accessible to government departments and public bodies, enabling them to identify and assist people whose physical or mental health…
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New research by Royal London has indicated that 15.9 million consumers are more financially vulnerable as a result of the pandemic. The research has found that the pandemic has caused a dramatic rise in the UK’s financial vulnerability with 15.9 million people (30%) now feel more financially vulnerable than they did in March 2020, of…
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While the UK economy continues its gradual encouraging pandemic recovery, signs are growing that the coming winter will be deeply financially difficult for many UK households, according to the August 2021 Money Statistics, produced by The Money Charity. Along with warmer weather and the ending of lockdown restrictions, the start of the summer period brought…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for August 2021 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,742.7 billion at the end of June 2021. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £62,705 and per adult was £32,950, around 109.7% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
Read moreAlmost two-thirds of UK homeowners find the mortgage process intimidating, new research by Twenty7Tec has revealed. The survey of 2,000 UK adults found 40% said deciding which mortgage to get ‘scared them’. Whilst 37% were kept awake by the mortgage process, while one in five admitted to crying because of it. The research also found…
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Only one in four in the North East are confident they can afford to retire according to research by Opinium for Hargreave Lansdown. Further research showed that only a quarter (26%) of people from the North-East and the East Midlands said they felt confident about their retirement prospects, whilst only 18% of people in the…
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A quarter (25%) of young people in Scotland say a lack of knowledge is a key barrier to home ownership, with two fifths (39%) unable to confidently explain how a mortgage works, according to the latest research from Bank of Scotland. The survey of over 2,100 18 to 34-year-olds living in Scotland, found that the…
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Higher prices for food, petrol and other everyday goods are leaving households struggling to meet these rising costs according to the latest Household Financial Confidence Tracker from comparethemarket.com. The research says that as coronavirus restrictions lift, the vaccine roll-out continues and the economy recovers, resulting inflationary pressures are leaving many families with children worried about affording day…
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Latest monthly figures from the Insolvency Service have indicated that personal insolvency numbers across England & Wales fell by 7.8% to 9,079 in July 2021 compared to June’s figure of 9,848, and were 23.8% higher than July 2020’s figure of 7,335. There 620 bankruptcies were registered, which was 34% lower than July 2020 and 58%…
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