Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A report by TUC and Unison suggests that about 1.6 million UK households are living in extreme debt. The report says official figures underestimate the intense burden of repayment on many families and individuals. The Britain in the Red report says households are finding it harder than ever to cope as wages have fallen. Total unsecured…
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Following on from the Government announcement of March’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) rate of inflation at 1.6%, millions of students and graduates will be charged more interest on their student loans from September. The RPI rate of inflation is used to decide how much interest graduates pay on their student loans – a much higher figure…
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Londoners are more likely to be struggling with debt than the rest of the UK costing the city £1.4 billion a year according to a new report from StepChange Debt Charity. The report shows that the charity’s clients living in the capital owe more on credit cards and loans, have higher arrears on bills meaning that they…
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Energy Provider E.on will refund it’s customers after it spotted a flaw in the way some meters are being read. Around 600 of its customers – both homes and businesses – are affected. Energy regulator Ofgem commented “Ofgem is aware that a very small number of gas customers are being incorrectly charged for their energy use and…
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The study by Shelter and YouGov found that one in three families have little or no personal savings to fall back meaning that a staggering three million working families could be just one pay cheque away from losing their home. The research also revealed that a fifth of working parents face the prospect of being immediately unable to…
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A research report by Citizen Advice finds that high levels of debt make people less likely to move house, apply for a new job or start a business, exposing the ways excessive debt damages life chances. Following the Bank of England’s decision last week to cut interest rates to 0.25%, Citizens Advice is also calling…
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SSE face scrutiny from Ofgem after switching its customers to pre-payment meter tariffs, with concerns raised that some customers are in potentially vulnerable situations. Ofgem’s will review it’s Standards of Conduct which are aimed at ensuring suppliers treat customers fairly. Firms should take all reasonable steps to ascertain a customer’s ability to pay and must take…
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The Money Advice Service has announced that the first Standard Financial Statement (SFS), will go live on 1st March 2017, marking the beginning of a transition period during which creditors and debt advice providers will move to using the new format. This will be the first time that all major debt advice providers, creditors, and other…
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The latest results Insolvency statistics from The Insolvency Service for Quarter 2 (April to June 2016) reveal that Personal Insolvency numbers have gone up. The main findings of the report were: Total individual insolvencies increased for the fourth consecutive quarter, driven primarily by an increase in individual voluntary arrangements Debt relief orders also increased, because of…
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Government figures reveal that tens of millions of pounds in unpaid council tax and business rates is owed to councils across the Black Country and Staffordshire. The figures owed are as follows: Walsall £20.3 million Sandwell £23.3 million Wolverhampton £14.7 million Dudley £8.7 million Cannock £6 million Stafford £4.4 million
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The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) has blamed policy changes for the delay in Universal Credit rollout. Damien Green, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, issued a statement to parliament outlining three major changes to the roll-out. The full statement can be found here. Source: Parliament UK
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A report by charity Stepchange has found that bailiffs, government departments and bailiffs are among the most unfair when dealing with people in problem debt. The report titled Creditor and debt collector conduct: What’s making debt problems worse? also found that some creditors are failing to take vulnerabilities such as depression and other ongoing mental health conditions into…
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A new national register – Landlord TAP – places all let properties in England and Wales in one place. Landlords will provide information about tenants responsible for paying water bills.
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