Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Energy regulator Ofgem has confirmed the energy price cap will fall by 7% from 1 July to 30 September 2024, compared to the previous quarter. For an average household paying by direct debit for dual fuel, this equates to £1,568, a drop of £122 over a year. The average household paying by prepayment meter for…
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Despite over half of British homes now having a smart meter, new research from Citizens Advice suggests millions of households are being let down by meter problems suppliers are failing to fix. The charity says new rules are needed to ensure energy suppliers identify and fix problems as quickly as possible. Citizens Advice is particularly…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined HSBC and Marks and Spencer Financial Services £6,280,100 for failures in treatment of customers who were in arrears or experiencing financial difficulty. The investigations found that between June 2017 and October 2018, HSBC failed to properly consider people’s circumstances when they had missed payments. This meant it did…
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New research by KPMG and charity National Numeracy, has found that one in five adults feel that their fear of numbers is hindering their financial progress, with one in five (19%) stating that the cost of living crisis has highlighted their weakness. The study of 3,000 people revealed that 20 per cent of the UK…
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New research by Hodge has found that more people are borrowing into their retirement to help out with debt consolidation and meet day to day living costs. The research found that over two thirds of brokers say lending up to and into retirement in the UK is changing, with greater numbers borrowing into their retirement…
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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its latest Consumer Prices Index, which shows that the rate of inflation fell to 2.3 percent in the 12 months to April 2024, down from 3.2 per cent in March. Prices were up 0.3% in a month (compared to 1.2% a year earlier). CPI is the…
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The Education Select Committee is set to propose that financial education should be introduced in primary schools as part of PHSE classes. Research by Hargreaves Lansdown carried out last year found that three quarters of 18-year-olds don’t understand the rules around borrowing or what a share is whilst two in three 18-year-olds don’t understand inflation,…
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New research by Hargreaves Lansdown has found that young people have put high-risk investments ahead of debt repayments. Hargreaves Lansdown says that there are 1.8 million households in arrears but also found that 16% of those in arrears are also investing at the same time. Separate research from the FCA found there’s a risk younger…
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UK Finance has published its latest card spending data which has found that outstanding balances on credit card accounts have grown by 9.5 per cent over the twelve months to February 2024 and 50 per cent of outstanding balances incurred interest compared to 51.2 per cent in February 2023. The data showed that there were…
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Latest monthly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvency figures increased by 9.9% in April 2024 with a total of 9,651 personal insolvencies registered. Personal insolvencies increased by 4.7% when compared to April 2023’s figure of 9,222. The personal insolvencies consisted of 648 bankruptcies, 3,436 debt relief orders…
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New research by Ofcom has found that four in five telecoms customers who look for information about debt support turn to their telecoms provider for information. Ofcom says that it keeps a close eye on levels of debt in the UK telecoms market and monitors how vulnerable customers are treated by providers. Last year, our data showed…
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New research conducted by YouGov on behalf of StepChange Debt Charity reveals that one in four (24%) adults have recently used a form of credit to pay for essentials such as household costs and groceries. StepChange’s analysis estimates this is the equivalent of 13 million people. Analysis shows among the one quarter (24%) of UK…
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New government data has shown 2,682 households in England were evicted from their homes by bailiffs as a result of Section 21 no-fault evictions between January and March – up 19% in a year and the highest number in six years. The Ministry of Justice figures show a further 7,863 landlords in England started Section…
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