Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Energy regulator, Ofgem has called for insolvency firms to treat customers more fairly when they are left in debt when energy companies collapse. Fourteen small energy firms have exited the domestic energy market since 2018. Toto Energy became the seventh small supplier to go out of business this year in October – just three months…
Read more
High Court Enforcement Agencies have been incorrectly charging VAT on top of their fees to debtors according to research by Just Digital Marketplace. Efforts to obtain clarification on the correct approach were led by the firm. Just says that it sought advice from the VAT barrister, Melanie Hall QC, of Monkton Chambers and then consulted…
Read more
A third of young adults use their credit card to pay bills according to new survey findings from 118 118 Money. The research shows that the credit cards are used to purchase holidays (53%), clothes (50.9%) and food (47%). A number even admitted to paying their monthly mortgage or rent payment with a credit card (4%).…
Read more
The Insolvency Service has published its latest England & Wales insolvency statistics for Q3 2019 (July-September) indicating that personal insolvencies (seasonally adjusted) increased by 0.6% from Q3 2019 compared to Q2 2019, and rose by 22.7% compared to Q3 2018. The figures showed that personal insolvencies are on the increase with 30,879 individual insolvencies in…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed that it has removed barriers that stop some mortgage customers from finding a cheaper mortgage deal. The rule change means that around 30,000 homeowners now have the freedom to move elsewhere. In some cases, so-called “mortgage prisoners” have previously been told that they cannot afford a new mortgage…
Read more
Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) has released official statistics reporting personal insolvencies in Scotland for the second quarter (July to September 2019) of 2019-20. The number of personal insolvencies (bankruptcies and protected trust deeds) in Scotland fell by 1.7% in July-September 2019 compared with the previous quarter (April-June 2019), but rose by 12.6% compared with the…
Read more
Seaside towns dominate this year’s rankings for the areas with the highest levels of personal insolvencies in the UK (year-end December 31 2018), according to research by UHY Hacker Young. The data suggests that these seaside towns are still a long way from recovering from the decades of contraction in their traditional coastal industries such…
Read more
A new version of the Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form (DMHEF) has launched following a review conducted by the Department of Health and Social Care, along with the British Medical Association, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, Money Advice Trust, UK Finance, the Credit Services Association and other key stakeholders. Findings from the review…
Read more
Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) reforms have been approved by Scottish Parliament. The amendment regulations will come into force on 4th November 2019. The regulations were developed following considerable work and engagement with stakeholders with the aim of increasing the accessibility, flexibility and sustainability of Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) payment programmes. These Regulations amend the Debt…
Read more
An investigation by the real estate adviser Altus Group has revealed that, during the last financial year (2018/19), over 78,000 non-domestic properties from shops to restaurants to pubs to factories were referred to Bailiffs to levy ‘distress’ and to seize their goods having fallen into arrears with business rates. Bailiffs are instructed by Councils, once…
Read more
In a major reform to civil enforcement, the Civil Enforcement Association (CIVEA) has announced the launch of a new an independently-monitored code of practice that sets a new standard for bailiffs. All members of the Civil Enforcement Association (CIVEA), representing over 90 percent of firms employing enforcement agents (bailiffs), have signed up to the code,…
Read more
The use of bailiffs to collect debts owed to local authorities in England and Wales has risen by 7 percent in two years, driven by a surge in the use of bailiffs to collect parking debts, according to new research by the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline. More…
Read more
Sovereign Capital Partners, the private equity Buy & Build specialist, has announced that portfolio company Bristow & Sutor, the nationwide judicial services and debt recovery group, has acquired debt collection agency (DCA) Credit Style. Bristow & Sutor was acquired by Sovereign in a management buy-out of the business in June 2017. Established in 1977 and…
Read more