Unsecured debt hits new high of £14,540 per household  

10th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

Unsecured debt hit a new peak of £14,540 per household in 2019 according to TUC analysis. Meaning that the average household debt is now 31% above its peak before the financial crisis. The analysis shows that unsecured debt per household rose to £14,540 in the third quarter of 2019, which is up £430 on a…

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Consumer spending grows 0.9% in December

9th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

New data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, has revealed that spending on essentials declined 0.9 per cent in December, with supermarkets contracting by 0.9 per cent compared with December 2018. Petrol expenditure also fell by 0.5 per cent. Many retailers also continued to see contractions in…

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Lantern achieves gold customer experience award

9th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

Lantern Debt Recovery Services has achieved a ‘gold’ award from customer experience experts, Investor in Customers (IIC).  This is Lantern’s third IIC assessment – with scores steadily increasing from ‘Silver’ in 2017 and 2018 to Gold this year. IIC is an independent assessment organisation that conducts rigorous benchmarking exercises. These exercises determine the quality of…

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Over two million damage credit scores through ‘buy now, pay later’

9th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

New statistics from Comparethemarket.com have revealed the financial consequences of ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ schemes. The survey of over 2,000 UK adults indicates that over two million UK adults who have used ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ schemes (BNPL) have had their credit scores damaged by using these payment schemes, as national levels of consumer debt continue…

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Credit card debts decrease for first time since 2013

6th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

Credit card debts have fallen for first time since July 2013 according the latest Bank of England Money and Credit Banking statistics. The latest figures show that borrowers repaid £100 million in November, reflecting falling demand for consumer lending. The annual growth rate in unsecured consumer lending dropped to 5.7% from 6.1% in October, as…

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Almost 5m consumers head into 2020 with personal debts over £10,000

6th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

More than half of the UK consumers (almost 27 million), will head into 2020 in debt, with almost five million owing over £10,000 in loans and credit, according to a poll conducted by money.co.uk. Money.co.uk polled 2,018 people living in the UK, aged 16-64 years, and found that, not including mortgages, almost two thirds (63%) will…

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Only 43% of consumers start new decade with finances in good shape

3rd January 2020 Consumer Collections |

According to new research by GoCompare, only 43% of consumers will start the new decade with their finances in good shape. Younger adults are the least optimistic about their finances.  Just 29% of 18 to 24-year olds and 26% of 25 to 34-year olds feel they are in good order.  In stark contrast, over half…

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Lenders put squeeze on balance transfers rates

3rd January 2020 Consumer Collections |

Research by credit specialist TotallyMoney and MoneyComms has warned that lenders are putting the squeeze on introductory 0% interest cards for balance transfers. Consumers looking to take charge of their debt in the new year may struggle to find a deal that lasts long enough to clear their debt interest-free. The research shows lenders are…

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Credit Connect to host collections technology webinar

2nd January 2020 Consumer Collections |

Credit Connect Media will host its first free live webinar in February. The webinar titled “How to accelerate effective collections with digital transformation” will be the first of a series of webinars looking at the latest thematic innovations enhancing collections strategy. The first partner for the webinar will be Lightico, winner of the Contact Centre…

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Credit card plateau may herald change in 2020

20th December 2019 Consumer Collections |

A noticeable levelling off of credit card lending over the second half of 2019 so far bucks a significant long-term trend, suggesting that we may see big changes in the credit market during 2020, according to the December 2019 Money Statistics, produced by The Money Charity. In 2019, after years of considerable, rapid growth, credit…

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Money Statistics: December 2019

20th December 2019 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for December 2019: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,665 billion at the end of October 2019. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £59,840 and per adult was £31,569, around 111.7% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose…

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Consumer finance new business decreased by 2% in October

19th December 2019 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business was 2% lower in October 2019 than the same month in 2018, and held steady in the first ten months to October. Within this overall picture, retail store and online credit new business grew in October by 1% compared…

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Banks urged not to hide repeated-overdraft use strategies

18th December 2019 Consumer Collections |

Banks have been urged by debt charity StepChange ‘not to shroud their repeated-overdraft use strategies in mystery’. With new rules on overdraft repeat use starting today (18th December 2019), the charity says that banks will need careful oversight by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ensure they break the cycle of financially vulnerable people getting…

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