Over three-fifths of UK adults are in debt

27th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

Millions of consumers are taking on multiple forms of debt without a clear plan of how to pay it off, new research by KnowYourMoney.co.uk has revealed. The comparison website commissioned an independent, nationally-representative survey among more than 2,000 UK adults. It found that 62% of people across the country have some form of debt, with credit cards (35%),…

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East Renfrewshire council move to write off £1m debt

18th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

East Renfrewshire council has made moves to write off more than £1million of debt. Members of the authority’s cabinet are being asked to approve the move, which would cancel debts racked up in council tax, housing benefit overpayments, rents arrears and court expenses. Roughly £800,000 of uncollected non-domestic rates (NDR) could also be written off…

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FCA introduces final rules for financial services directory

11th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced the final rules on the Directory – a new public register that enables consumers, firms and other stakeholders to find information on key individuals working in financial services. Publishing this information on a regular basis will empower customers to make sure they only deal with individuals whom an…

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FCA announces increase in FOS award limit

8th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will soon be able to require financial services firms to pay significantly more compensation to consumers and businesses. From 1 April, the current £150,000 limit will increase to £350,000 for complaints about actions by firms on or after that date. For complaints about…

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Over half of financial services customers feel that they are treated unfairly

7th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

Over half (52%) of financial services customers feel that financial services firms treat consumers unfairly, according to new research by Voice of the Customer (VoC) pioneers Maru/edr. The findings are from a new study into customer treatment in the financial services industry, which interviewed 1,000 independent customers who held at least once financial product in…

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CCJs against consumers decline for the first time in six years

18th February 2019 Consumer Collections |

New figures from the Registry Trust indicate that in 2018, there were 1,115,099 County Court judgments (CCJs) were registered against consumers in England and Wales, a fall of two percent on 2017. This is the first time in six years that the number of CCJs against consumers has fallen. The average value of a consumer CCJ…

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Second charge repossessions down by 26.3% in Q4 2018

14th February 2019 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance Leasing Association (FLA) have shown that the number of second charge repossessions in 2018 was 147, 8.1% higher than in 2017. In the final quarter of 2018, the number of repossessions was 28, down by 26.3% compared to the same period in 2017. The number of properties repossessed during…

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Homeowner possessions hit lowest level in almost 40 years

14th February 2019 Consumer Collections |

UK Finance has published its Mortgage Arrears and Possessions Update for the fourth quarter of 2018, which saw 4580 homeowner possessions in 2018, the lowest level since 1980 when there were 3480 possessions. During this period, there were 6.2 million outstanding homeowner mortgages, compared to 9 million at the end of December 2018. The data…

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No deal Brexit could complicate cross border debt enforcement

14th February 2019 Consumer Collections |

Lenders could find it much harder to enforce cross border debts in the event of a no deal Brexit, RSM has warned. Currently, European regulations facilitate the collection of cross border debts within the EU, notably through the use of European Enforcement Orders. These allow a judgment in one member state to be enforced in…

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Court Enforcement Services announces executive board changes

13th February 2019 Consumer Collections |

Enforcement specialist, Court Enforcement Services has announced high-level executive changes to its board within its high court enforcement and compliance management teams. At board level, Alan Smith has been formally appointed to the board. Simon Williamson has resigned as Director to concentrate on other interests, but he remains a shareholder of the business. This means that…

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Northern Ireland sees decline in debt judgements

7th February 2019 Consumer Collections |

The number and total value of small claims judgments in Northern Ireland dropped in 2018 compared to the previous year, but still show a marked increase on 2016’s record lows. There were 8,021 small claims judgments in 2018, eight percent fewer than in the previous year. The total value dropped by 13 percent to £17.1million,…

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Irish consumer debt judgements decrease

6th February 2019 Consumer Collections |

The total number of judgments in 2018 against Irish consumers is at a record low, with consumer judgments down eight percent. However, the value of consumer judgments rose by 22 percent in the same year. There were 1,985 judgments registered against consumers in 2018, eight percent fewer than the previous year and a record low.…

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Scottish consumer debt orders rise by 7%

6th February 2019 Consumer Collections |

Latest figures published by the Registry Trust have shown that Scottish debt orders have risen by 7 percent in the past year. During 2018, 24,362 debt decrees registered against Scottish consumers, this was seven percent higher than in 2017. There was also a moderate increase to the combined value of all consumer decrees to £64.1million. The average…

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