Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Over half (54%) of pensioners on a low income find it a struggle to keep up with bills and credit commitments, causing misery and worry to hundreds of thousands of retirees. The findings are revealed in new research by the Living Wage Foundation based on polling of pensioners who are on a low income. The…
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The number of customers falling behind on their electricity bills with no repayment plan in place has more than tripled from 300,000 in 2012 to over one million at the end of 2024, with the number of customers falling behind on their gas bill also tripling from 300,000 to 900,000 over this period according to…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 15% in July 2025. Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Director of Consumer & Mortgage Finance and Inclusion at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said…
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Working parents’ confidence in the future UK economy and their future and current household finances has plummeted ahead of the start of the new school year according to Which?’s latest consumer insight tracker. In the month to 13th August, working age parents’ confidence in the future UK economy fell dramatically by 25 points from a…
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New research from Unbiased has revealed that while consumers see a role for artificial intelligence (AI) in finance, a majority prefer human advisers. The survey of 800 UK adults actively seeking financial advice found that a combined 74% are open to an adviser-led model, compared with just 6% who would choose an AI platform alone. The…
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Latest Bank of England data have shown that net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals rose slightly to £1.6 billion, from £1.5 billion in the previous month. Within this, net borrowing through credit cards slightly increased to £0.8 billion in July, from £0.7 billion in June. Net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit increased…
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Three in four people (75%) say that summer holidays are increasingly becoming a luxury that only some can afford, according to research by Compare the Market with over half (56%) of those intending to take a summer holiday this year concerned about the financial cost. More than one in four (28%) also admitted they felt…
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Latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data has shown that household cost inflation was 3.9% in the year to June – up from 2.7% in the year to March. Lower earners were hit harder than higher earners – those in the second decile saw inflation of 4.1% and those in the ninth saw 3.8%, it…
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New research from HSBC has revealed that while consumers are actively cutting back on subscription services, many are still losing money to ‘invisible spending’ – particularly through automatic payments they forget to cancel. The survey of 2,000 UK adults, released as part of HSBC Invisible Spending campaign, found that people are saving an average of…
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Gas and electricity prices will rise by 2% for millions of households under the latest cap announced by energy regulator Ofgem. The energy price cap will rise by £35 per year for a typical household from October. While the rise is small, it underscores the fact that energy costs remain stubbornly high. With energy debt…
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Consumers are more confident this month but are vulnerable to worries about rising inflation and potential tax increases, according to GfK’s latest consumer confidence index. The index rose to its highest since December at minus 17, up from minus 19 in July, boosted by a three-point improvement in households’ sentiment around their personal finances and…
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CPI inflation jumped 0.2 percentage points to reach 3.8 per cent in July. Worryingly, the rise was driven by the higher cost of essentials with faster price rises for energy (rising from 4.5 per cent in June to 8 per cent in July), petrol (up by 2p per litre in July) and food (4.5 per…
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Latest monthly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvency figures rose slightly in July when compared to last month and to July 2024. Personal insolvencies increased by 1.8% in July 2025 to a total of 10,515 compared to June 2025’s total of 10,328, and slightly increased by 0.3%…
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