Energy bills expected to rise by £500 despite expected price cap fall

Research by Cornwall Insights has predicted that energy bills will rise by an estimated £500 a year despite an expected reduction in Ofgem’s household energy cap. Cornwall Insight predicts the cap for a typical household will be £3,294 equivalent per year meaning that customers will pay about 20% more on their bills, approximately £500, as…

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Financial Services complaints jump 17%

20th February 2023 Consumer Collections | #complaints

The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) saw a 17% year-on-year increase in the number of complaints it received in Quarter 4 (Q4). FOS recorded 41,303 complaints between October and December, up from 35,342 during the same period in 2021. On a quarterly basis, there were 2,833 more complaints in Q4 than in the July to September…

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One in five people move back into family home due to cost-of-living crisis

17th February 2023 Consumer Collections |

Research from Capital One has found that one in five young adults are returning to live with their parents due to the cost-of-living crisis, leading to an average expected increase of £272 per month in energy and food bills for parents. The research showed that one in five (17%) have moved or are planning to…

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Credit card spending continues to rise

Latest data from UK Finance found that credit card balances grew in November 2022. The data found that there were there was 355.1 million credit card transactions in November, 0.3 per cent more than in November 2021. The total spend of £19.6 billion was 5.3 per cent higher than November 2021. Outstanding balances on credit…

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Half of Scottish people are struggling to keep up with essential bills

17th February 2023 Arrears and Recoveries | #bills arrears

Research by StepChange Debt Charity, has revealed that 43% of the UK population, including 48% of Scottish adults, more than 2 million people have found it difficult to keep up with household bills and credit commitments in the last few months. One in ten (10%) say they have found it very difficult. With the rising…

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Two in five people rationing essentials to keep up with bill repayments 

Struggling households borrowed £11 billion to cope with the cost of living crisis in 2022 and are cutting back on essentials to keep up with the repayments, according to new polling from StepChange Debt Charity. The polling, conducted by YouGov, reveals that more than two in five UK adults (43%) are taking action such as…

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Personal insolvencies fall by 7.4%

Latest quarterly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvency numbers decrease by 7.4% in January 2023. The personal insolvency figures of 8,344 were 8.9% lower than January 2022’s figure of 8,485. There were  612 bankruptcies were registered, which were 5% higher than in January 2022, but 60% lower…

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Northern Irish personal insolvencies rise whilst business insolvencies fall

Latest monthly statistics from the Insolvency Service have indicated that Northern Irish business insolvencies fell and personal insolvency increased. In January 2023 there were 14 business insolvencies registered in Northern Ireland, 22% lower than January 2022 and 46% lower than January 2020. The business insolvencies comprised of nine CVLs, one compulsory liquidation and four CVAs.…

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Quarter of couples argue about money at least once a week

14th February 2023 Consumer Collections | #money

A quarter (26%) of couples argue about money at least once a week; around 5% say they argue about finances every day according to research by Aviva. The research also found that while more than two thirds of couples (67%) have a joint current account and half (51%) have joint savings accounts, 38% of people…

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Households need an extra £203 per month to cope with April bill increases

Households expect to need more than £200 extra per month to cover the increase in bills set to take place in April, according to Comparethemarket.com’s latest Money Action Index. The index tracks the proportion of households who are concerned about the rising cost of living and are taking action to get their finances under control. The latest index…

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Mortgage possessions claims increase 23%

Latest figures from the Ministry of Justice (October to December 2022) for England and Wales have revealed that mortgage possession claims increased by 23% in Q4 last year compared to the same quarter in 2021 from 2,570 to 3,160, while repossessions by county court bailiffs increased by 123 from a lower base (313 to 733). Commenting, Myron Jobson, Senior…

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Landlord repossessions increased by 98% at the end of 2022

Latest figures from the Ministry of Justice (October to December 2022) for England and Wales have revealed that landlord repossessions increased by 98% at the end of 2022  The new figures show that there were 5,409 landlord repossessions in this period, a 98% increase on the same quarter last year and a similar level to…

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Third of households demonstrating financial resilience

Some 10 million households will demonstrate financial resilience this year, with spending power concentrated in London, the South-East and city locations throughout the UK according to new analysis from Experian. The research reveals more than a third (35%) of households are equipped to recover from temporary financial issues in 2023 despite the wider economic landscape.…

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