Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
37% of people across the UK have seen their incomes had been affected by the Coronavirus impact according to new research by Kantar. Nearly four in 10 people who have been financially impacted by coronavirus have seen half their income or more wiped out. Some 14% of people whose income had been impacted said it…
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Metro Bank has committed to repay more than £10.5 million to its customer after it breached a legal order by failing to send texts warning people about unarranged overdraft charges. The bank was found to have breached Part 6 of the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017. This requires banks…
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New data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions has revealed overall consumer spending declined by 6% in March due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, although some sectors saw strong growth. The figures revealed that spending on essential items rose by 11.6 per cent in March. Supermarket purchases…
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Results from the third British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Coronavirus Business Impact Tracker have revealed that the majority of businesses responding to the survey have now furloughed a proportion of their workforce, and are awaiting funds from the government’s Job Retention Scheme to enable them to pay staff. 66% of survey respondents have furloughed staff in anticipation of scheme going live with more than half of firms (59%) have three…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in February 2020 by 6% compared with the same month in 2019. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew in February 2020 by 9% compared with the same month in 2019, while retail store and online…
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Over 1.2 million mortgage payment holidays have been offered by lenders to customers impacted by Covid-19 according to the latest figures from UK Finance. Action by lenders means one in nine mortgages in the UK are now subject to a payment holiday. The number of payment holidays in place more than tripled in the two…
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The latest CBI financial services survey shows that Britain’s financial services sector suffered a drop in profits and increase in bad debts before the coronavirus crisis-prompted lockdown. The report, based on a poll of 103 firms, saw 27% report a drop in profits versus 24% which reported a rise. Some 12% of firms said they…
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Families living in private rented accommodation are more exposed to the current economic shock than homeowners, and could face big rent shortfalls if they lose their jobs despite welcome government support, according to the Resolution Foundation’s latest Housing Outlook. The Housing Outlook examines the impact of the current economic shock on families across different housing…
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One of the UK’s free debt advice providers, PayPlan, has said it expects to see a huge surge in demand for debt advice when the current temporary relief being offered by lenders comes to an end. The FCA called for interest and charges to be frozen on all loans and credit cards to help consumers…
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The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has warned against rising poverty as a report suggests the young and low-paid will be worst affected by business shutdowns during the coronavirus crisis.The study noted that employees aged under 25 were about two and a half times as likely to work in a sector in effective lockdown because…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out its business priorities for the year ahead – with specific focus on the challenges presented by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. In responding to the challenge of coronavirus the FCA will focus on ensuring that financial services businesses give people the support they need, that people avoid scams,…
Read moreA group of nearly 80 academics, policy experts and leaders of charities, trade unions and community groups have written to Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, calling on him to provide an urgent, interest-free freeze on personal debt payments for people affected by Covid-19. The letter also calls for a write-off of existing council tax and social…
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Millions of people across Britain risk falling through gaps in the coronavirus wage subsidy plan and benefits system, according to The Resolution Foundation think tank. The think tank says Government must get Universal Credit (UC) ‘battle ready’ for the UK’s growing unemployment crisis by encouraging more people to claim, extending eligibility to more middle-income households,…
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