Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New analysis published by the TUC shows that household debt rose sharply over 2016, with unsecured debt (debt other than mortgages) reaching new highs. The TUC says weak wage growth has left more families reliant on borrowing to support their living standards. The analysis finds that: Unsecured debt per household rose to £12,887 in the…
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Energy prices have now become the top concern for British consumers, alongside fuel prices and public spending cuts, according to a survey by Which? Nearly two thirds (64 per cent) of the 2000 people questioned for the Which? Consumer Insights Tracker said they were worried about energy prices – a rise of eight percentage points since…
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MoneySuperMarket’s annual insight into the nation’s financial stress levels shows over 11 million people (22 per cent) cite daily money worries as their main cause of stress. Financially stressed adults suffer from a range of emotional consequences too, including feeling panicky (37 per cent), overwhelmed (33 per cent), disappointed (31 per cent), exhausted (27 per cent)…
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The Bank of England has published its latest monthly Money and Credit report, showing consumer credit grew by £1.9 billion in November. The 12-month annual growth rate in consumer credit now stands at 10.8% – its highest since October 2005. Joanna Elson OBE, chief executive of the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National…
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Household bills rose by almost £200 in 2016 according to new findings from comparethemarket.com. An analysis of costs across energy, motor and home insurance found that, after a £180 drop in 2015, bills rose by 9.7% in the past year from £2,032 in 2015 to £2,223 in 2016. Key finings in the report included: The…
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More than a tenth of the adult population expects to fall behind on their finances this January, while less than a third have set a personal budget and ‘perilously few’ have a plan to repay the debts they currently owe, according to new research from National Debtline, run by the Money Advice Trust. A poll of…
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The biggest rise in food and drink expenditure for 20 months has driven essential spending to its strongest level of growth since February 2014, according to the latest Lloyds Bank Spending Power Report. Overall essential spending grew by 1.0% last month, the third consecutive month of positive growth. Lloyds Bank’s analysis of its own current…
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Citizens Advice is expecting more than 370,000 people to seek help on financial issues such as pensions, investments and debts in January after analysis by the charity reveals that people are more likely to research financial decisions now than at any other time of the year. The analysis of demand for advice over the last…
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The Money Advice Service is proposing widespread, coordinated efforts with a decisive focus on helping people in the “squeezed” and “struggling” segments of society improve their money skills and deal with their debts, in its draft business plan for 2017/18. Having engaged more than 300 organisations in its collaborative strategy to improve financial capability, the…
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Ofgem has confirms it has asked energy providers to return £670million of customer money owed since 2014. In 2014, Ofgem challenged large suppliers to do more to return money to former customers who had credit on their account after their account was closed, typically after switching supplier. The regulator says that today, most customers are…
Read moreLiving beyond means, relationship breakdowns, and reduced levels of income were the leading causes of bankruptcy in 2015, according to new government statistics. R3 says the statistics also reveal significant differences between the reasons why men and women enter bankruptcy. One-third (34%) of men’s bankruptcies in 2015 were caused by the bankrupt’s own company running…
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The Managing Director of RBS’s personal and business banking division said customers would benefit if the power to open basic accounts was broadened A greater number of vulnerable customers would take up basic banking services if challenger banks could offer no-frills accounts, a Government committee has heard. Moray McDonald, managing director of Royal Bank of…
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UK households face huge energy hikes in the New Year, according to research by Gocompare.com Energy. The comparison site found that a range of fixed dual fuel energy tariffs, including deals from energy giants Npower and Scottish Power, are due to expire at the end of December. Unless they take action now, customers who are…
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