Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
‘Outdated and punitive council tax regulations’ are encouraging local authorities to collect arrears aggressively and is causing people serious financial harm, according to new research by Citizens Advice. Citizens Advice new research shows missing an average council tax payment of £167, in the first month of the financial year, can escalate to a debt of…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for April 2019: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.633 trillion at the end of February 2019. This is up from £1.584 trillion at the end of February 2018, an extra £942.39 per UK adult over the year. The average total debt per household,…
Read moreVulnerable people who fall behind with Council Tax payments will have greater protection from aggressive debt enforcement under new plans to improve the way councils collect arrears. Following concerns from charities, debt advice bodies and local councils, ministers are moving forward with work to create a fairer, more efficient and compassionate debt recovery system. Local…
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A new report produced by a Scottish debt charity Stepchange has highlighted the extent of the debt burden in Scotland. In its report, Scotland in the Red, StepChange Debt Charity Scotland outlines the financial situation of Borderers who have sought their assistance with managing debts. The report draws on data from telephone debt advice sessions…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for March 2019: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.629 trillion at the end of January 2019. This is up from £1.579 trillion at the end of January 2018, an extra £952.50 per UK adult over the year. The average total debt per…
Read moreBusiness rate debts worth more than £130,000 have been written off by Stafford Borough Council. The authority also agreed to write off one council tax debt of £3,205.56 at its cabinet meeting on Thursday, alongside the 18 business rate arrears cases totalling £130,444.24. The businesses involved have not been publicly identified, but the meeting was…
Read moreEast 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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Three-quarters of people who are already in debt across the UK have had to borrow more money to cover daily living costs since receiving Universal Credit, according to new data from national debt help provider PayPlan. The survey of more than 6,000 people, who have already sought advice from the free debt help provider, also shows…
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Early intervention is key to stop Welsh households falling behind on their council tax or social housing rent payments, according to a new report from the Wales Centre for Public Policy. As councils across Wales are seeking large increases in their council tax rates for the coming year, the report highlights the importance of building…
Read moreDebt recovery firm DSL has launched a specialist service to help local authorities collect sundry debt after a recent pilot for a single Inner London council delivered a 54% success rate. Sundry debt covers a range of commercial invoices, from bin collections and licensing fees to nursing home overpayments, service charge arrears and planning fees.…
Read moreHere is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for February 2019: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.625 trillion at the end of December 2018. This is up from £1.576 trillion at the end of December 2017, an extra £935.34 per UK adult, £81.72 higher than the previous month. The average total debt per…
Read moreThe Credit Service Association (CSA) has responded to last week’s Financial Ombudsman’s figures on debt collection. In a statement the CSA said “Recent media reports using figures from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) fail to mention that the total number of complaints relating to debt collection activities has in fact fallen year-on-year, is significantly lower…
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People claiming Universal Credit are still struggling to pay for the roof over their heads, despite the wait for their first payment being reduced from six weeks to five, according to new Citizens Advice data. One in two people the charity helped were in rent arrears or fell behind on their mortgage payments, the same…
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