Renters less financially resilient

21st February 2024 Consumer Collections |

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 councils at risk of financial failure over next five years

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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Families face £1,400 ‘debt timebomb’ in 2024

2nd January 2024 Arrears and Recoveries | #debt

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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2023 Credit & Collections Technology Think Tank review

Credit Connect hosted its third in-person Credit & Collections Technology Think Tank in mid-November in Manchester which saw credit and collections strategies and the impact of the cost of living discussed by sixteen professionals from a variety of industry sectors at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. The themes of cost of living impacting customer engagement,…

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HMRC set to receive funding to recoup £5bn in unpaid tax debt

27th November 2023 Consumer Collections | #government debt

The Government is to provide £16.3 million into HM Revenue & Customs’ debt management team in a bid to recoup £4.67 billion in unpaid taxes over the next six years. According to Treasury estimates, the injection of cash will help HMRC’s debt management team recoup £515million in taxes in 2024-25. By 2025, over £1billion worth…

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Scottish council tax and rent arrears rise

New quarterly data released by StepChange Debt Charity Scotland reveals the continued impact of the wider cost of living pressures as almost two fifths of new clients (37%) responsible for paying council tax bills were in arrears between July and September, up from 31% in the previous quarter. The charity has also reported an uptick…

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Housing costs concerns hits highest levels recorded

8th September 2023 Arrears and Recoveries | #bills

Worries about housing costs have hit the highest levels ever recorded by Which?’s Consumer Insight Tracker, as interest rates are widely expected to rise further. The Insight Tracker recorded highest levels of concern around housing costs – with four in five mortgage owners (79%) and 4 in 5 renters (81%) saying that they were worried…

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Thanet council tax debt hits £23.2m

A Freedom of Information request to Thanet District Council has revealed the total value of unpaid council tax debt owed in the district up to the end of the 2022-2023 financial year is a £23,202,000. The figure has built up over the past 30 years, since the charge was first introduced, and includes £2 million…

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Calls for review on school uniform grants

Money Wellness is calling for the government to review school uniform grants, after 93% of parents said they were unaware there was any help available. A survey by the company found that  97% of families, already struggling with debt, were worried about being able to afford school uniform this September. The same number (97%) said…

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Call for reform of outdated collection rules as council tax debt hits £5.5bn

The Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline, has responded to figures which show that council tax arrears for households in England have reached £5.5 billion by calling for urgent reform of council tax collection rules.  Current rules mean that households can be liable for their full annual bill after…

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Council tax, energy, rent and other priority debts up 54% since 2018

New research from National Debtline, the free debt advice service run by the Money Advice Trust, has revealed that the average level of priority debt – including council tax, energy and rent arrears – held by callers has risen 54 percent since 2018, from £2,642 to £4,080.  The findings, based on a survey of National…

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Money Statistics: March 2023

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for March 2023 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,837.4 billion at the end of January 2023. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,434 and per adult was £34,546, around 105.2% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…

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Collections Technology Think Tank 4.1 Review

2nd March 2023 Arrears and Recoveries |

Credit Connect’s hosted its sixth Online Collections Technology Think Tank 4.1 last week which saw collections strategies and the impact of cost of living economic stresses discussed by thirteen collections professionals from a variety of industry sectors. The themes of collections risk, customer engagement, affordability and the future of collections were discussed by panelists and…

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