Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A new Work and Pensions Committee report has highlighted the difficulties faced by people claiming Universal Credit. A new report by the Work and Pensions Committee, Universal Credit: the wait for a first payment, has found the current wait of at least five weeks for a first payment is causing financial difficulties for some households.…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has confirmed plans to strengthen protections for customers who are struggling to pay their energy bills this winter. Following a consultation in June, The regulator is introducing new licence rules for suppliers from 15th December. One of the rules will require suppliers to offer emergency credit to customers struggling to top up…
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Research carried out by Cifas, the fraud prevention service, shows that 80% of fraud prevention professionals believe businesses are unprepared for an expected surge in fraud as the Covid-19 crisis presents fraudsters with new opportunities. The results come as part of a survey carried out among professionals from some of the UK’s leading organisations and…
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Debit card spending in the UK reached a record high of £59.1 billion in July, data published by UK Finance has revealed. Spending was up almost a fifth (17.9 per cent) compared to the previous month and an increase of 9.4 per cent compared to July last year. Credit card spending in July amounted to…
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A new independent report, which contains 13 recommendations to address the urgent financial wellbeing implications of the Covid-19 pandemic, has been released by the Challenge Chairs who advise the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) on the UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing. These recommendations, which include immediate actions, such as help with credit for people coming…
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More than 800,000 households could be automatically switched onto more expensive ‘default’ energy tariffs in the last three months of 2020 if they do not switch tariff or provider when their deal comes to an end. In October, November and December 2020, there are 469 fixed energy tariffs coming to an end, according to new…
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Nearly two in five (38%) retirees aged 54 and over say their monthly expenditure exceeds their household’s income, either on an occasional or regular basis according to new research from equity release lender more2life and economics consultancy Cebr The research also indicated that a third (33%) of women aged over 54 who have taken on or held…
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Consumers will be able to get cashback from shops without needing to buy anything under new Government proposals to protect the UK’s cash system. Under the government proposals, cashback without a purchase could be widely available from retailers of all sizes in local communities/ Although cash use is declining, with people increasingly choose cards, mobile…
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The Insolvency Service has published its latest figures which indicated that in September personal insolvencies in England and Wales increased to 7,450 in September 2020 compared to August’s figure of 6,372, but remained well below September 2019’s figure of 12,256 There were, on average, 4,639 IVAs registered in each of the 3 months ending September…
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Totallymoney.com research has revealed how much customers could save by avoiding finance options at car dealerships with £300 million being lost every year across the UK due to commission-focused dealerships The research showed that the majority of new car registrations (nine in ten) were financed through dealerships in 2018 with nearly three-quarters of people (68%)…
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Pent-up demand and government incentives jolted the UK’s property market back to life this summer despite caution from lenders about the effects of Covid-19, according to a new Experian report. Experian’s research in Lending with Confidence: A data-led Analysis of the Mortgage Market has revealed that mortgage applications increased year-on-year by 13% in July, followed…
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Freelancers whose income has been slashed this year due to the pandemic could soon face tax bills higher than their earnings according to new research by Royal London. As reports suggest that the Treasury is considering a number of dramatic tax increases on the self-employed, including a rise in National Insurance Contributions, Royal London is…
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Research from Hodge Bank has revealed that people’s top priority in life is to be debt free, followed by buying a new home and spending more time with family. According to the research – which asked over 3000 people about their attitudes to finances – 58% of people claimed that their biggest priority in life…
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