Christians Against Poverty receives FCA Authorisation

2nd June 2017 Consumer Collections |

Debt charity Christians Against Poverty has announced that it has been officially authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Chief Executive Officer  Matt Barlow said: “We fully support the FCA in its mission to ensure best practice in the industry on behalf of the consumer. It has long been our goal to offer the very…

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Credit card borrowing growing at the fastest rate since 2006

1st June 2017 Consumer Collections |

Latest Bank of England figures show that the annual growth of consumer credit (which includes credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts) was up 10.3% in April, up from the 10.2% recorded in March, but lower than February’s 10.5% rise. There were 64,645 home loans approved in April, the lowest number since September last year. The…

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The Debt Advisor secures full FCA Authorisation

31st May 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Debt Advisor has announced that the company has secured full authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to offer full advice and debt solutions including debt management to individuals. Beverley Budsworth, MD and Insolvency Practitioner, who originally set up the business in 1999 said :The business has grown over the years and is proud…

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StepChange CEO to step down

26th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

Mike O’Connor will leave StepChange Debt Charity later this year after leading the organisation as Chief Executive since 2013. As the UK’s largest debt advice charity, the number of people in contact for help each year has grown over the last five years by 62% to 600,000. The charity also tackles the causes of problem…

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Managing finances as stressful as exams

26th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

New research from Which? University reveals that undergraduate students find managing finances as stressful as exams. A survey of over 2000 undergraduate students at UK universities shows that one in seven (15%) rank managing finances as the most stressful aspect of their university experience, alongside exams (15%) and almost as stressful as coursework (18%). The figures…

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Debt is part of modern life say the over 50s

25th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

Debt is a part of modern life according to more than half of people over 50 shows a new survey.* Whilst one in four said that they would never borrow money and more than two thirds said they would always use cash savings over borrowing money, a third of over 50s said that they would…

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Household debt will reach record high in first year of new government

25th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

The TUC has published a new analysis of household debt, which finds that unsecured debt per household will reach a record high of £13,900 this year. Unsecured debt per household was £13,200 in 2016 – the highest figure since the financial crisis, and only marginally below the peak of £13,300 in 2007. The TUC analysis…

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IMA Chair calls for advanced debt advice qualification

24th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

The new chair of the Institute of Money Advisers (IMA) is calling for the introduction of an advanced qualification to enhance the free-debt advice sector Jane Clack, a money adviser at PayPlan, was elected with a majority of 56% and takes the role for a three-year term. Clack has been a member of the IMA…

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Stepchange launches election briefing

18th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

Debt Advice Provider Stepchange has launched an election briefing calling on parties to help struggling households this Election. Here is an overview of Stepchange’s statement: 8.6 million households are using credit for everyday living expenses, including 1.1 million having to turn to high cost credit. These are households who might be managing for now but are increasingly…

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Mortgage debt exceeds the average life insurance pay out

17th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

Aegon has released protection claims statistics that reveal people are likely to be under-protected for the amount of mortgage debt they have. According to figures from The Money Charity, the estimated average outstanding mortgage for the 11.1 million households with mortgage debt in the UK was £119,937 in January 2017. Stephen Crosbie, Protection Director at…

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1.4 million households struggling to pay their mortgage

17th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

Research by L&C Mortgages has revealed that 1.4 million UK households are struggling to pay their mortgage and 2.6 million people think their monthly mortgage payments are too high. Over half (58%) have never remortgaged for a better deal, as highlighted in L&C’s ongoing campaign to get homeowners to save as much as they possibly…

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Households are being squeezed by inflation rise

17th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

The annual rate of consumer price index (CPI) inflation rose from 2.3% in March to 2.7% in April – higher than consensus estimates of 2.6%. Meanwhile, the retail price index (RPI) measure of inflation jumped from 3.1% to 3.5% over the same period, also slightly higher than consensus expectations. This is more bad news for…

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Over 300,000 Interest-only risk loans not fully repaid since 2011 – Report

16th May 2017 Consumer Collections |

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has released its latest member data and shows that the number of outstanding residential interest-only loans has been falling by between 10 and 13 per cent a year since 2012. In the CML survey covers well over 90% of all residential mortgages outstanding, reflecting the industry’s ongoing commitment to…

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