Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
More than 2.7 million debts were referred to bailiffs by local authorities in England and Wales during the 2022/23 financial year, according to new research conducted by the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline, and the Centre for Social Justice think-tank. The findings, based on Freedom of Information requests to local authorities,…
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StepChange Debt Charity Scotland’s latest quarterly client data has revealed the ongoing pressure that council tax is having on households, as average council tax arrears per client in Scotland have risen by 11% year on year. The average council tax arrears amount among Scottish clients stands at £2,075 during the second quarter of 2024, up…
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Unsecured household debt is set to rise by over £1,600 this year as families continue to struggle with the cost of living crisis, according to new TUC analysis. The analysis shows that unsecured debt (loans, credit cards, purchase hire agreements) is on course to increase by 9.4% (£1,660) in real terms, on average, per household…
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Latest data published by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) show outstanding council tax arrears have reached a total of £6 billion as of 31stMarch 2024, a 9% year-on-year rise and an 71% increase since before the pandemic – the total outstanding arrears stood at £3.5 billion in 2019 to 2020. Over…
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Credit Connect has announced the shortlist of companies and partnerships for this year’s first-ever annual Credit & Collections Industry Awards. The shortlist for the inaugural awards consists of 64 entrants with over 50 companies in the running to win the first-ever awards. Credit Connect’s panel of judges has now compiled the shortlist for the fourteen…
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The annual cost of household bills is predicted to drop by £350 on average year-on-year in April 2024, according to new research by Compare the Market. The research analyses the cost of energy, water, home insurance, motor insurance, and council tax. It reveals that the combined cost of these household bills is set to decline…
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Members of the UK Regulators’ Network (UKRN) the Financial Conduct Authority (FC) FCA, Ofgem, Ofwat, and Ofcom, have published a joint letter setting out shared expectations in relation to debt collection and customers experiencing financial difficulty. The letter calls on companies to improve their debt collection practices, after identifying shortcomings across the financial services industry,…
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The Treasury has announced that it expects to raise £240 million in the first year after launching a new tax collection policy. Private sector debt collectors will be enlisted to collect up to £4.3 billion in unpaid taxes, as part of a budget crackdown spearheaded by HMRC. The plan involves increasing HMRC’s capacity to follow…
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Over 270,000 people in Scotland missed a council tax payment in 2023 according to analysis by Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS). The analysis by the charity of polling it commissioned from YouGov found that 276,186 people in Scotland had missed a council tax payment at least once from December 2022. On average around one in three…
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Analysis of figures from councils across England by responsible lender, Creditspring has revealed that £85 million of the Household Support Fund remains unspent with the 31st March 2024 deadline fast approaching. The Household Support Fund was first launched in October 2021, and has been extended several times. The current tranche, which has been running since…
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Renters are less financially resilient than recent remortgagers according to reseach by Hargreaves Lansdown’s HL Savings & Resilience Barometer . The research found that over two-thirds have poor financial resilience, compared to a quarter of remortgagers whilst only 43% of renters have enough emergency savings, compared to 71% of mortgagees and 87% of those who…
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Four in ten local authorities in England are at risk of going bust over the next five years, according to analysis by Grant Thornton. Since 2021, six councils have issued section 114 notices, meaning they have declared themselves effectively bankrupt with Grant Thornron suggesting that 40% of councils at risk of financial failure over the…
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Research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has warned that households face a ‘debt timebomb’ with analysis showing that borrowing is set to increase by £1,400 on average in 2024. The TUC analysis shows that unsecured debt – which includes personal loans, credit cards, and overdrafts – is set to rise from £13,361 to £14,792…
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