Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Financial Conduct Authority has launched its updated Financial Services (FS) Register – including a simpler design and clearer language. The redesign aims to help consumers protect themselves from harm and will provide a better experience for the Register’s users. The Register – which had more than 7 million unique users in the past year…
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People suffering financial, health or emotional problems should be treated fairly and given the right support by phone, broadband and pay-TV providers, under best practice industry guidance issued by communications regulator Ofcom. The regulator says that the coronavirus pandemic has increased the potential for customers’ circumstances to change suddenly and providers are already offering additional…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell in April 2020 by 64% compared with the same month in 2019, and decreased by 19% in the first four months of 2020. Credit card and personal loan new business together fell in April 2020 by 48% compared…
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Consumers repaid £7.4 billion debt in April, the largest net repayment since the series began according to the latest figures from the Bank of England’s monthly Money & Credit statistical release data. This is the largest net repayment since records began in 1993 and double that of March, which was the previous record. The figures…
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Families are coming to terms with the fact that their finances could be negatively affected by the coronavirus pandemic long after the lockdown lifts. According to the second week of comparethemarket.com’s Financial Confidence Tracker, over two thirds (67%) of households with children at home think the economic impact of the pandemic will have a long-term…
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New research from Citizens Advice has revealed that over 13 million people have already been unable to pay, or expect to be unable to pay, at least one bill because of the coronavirus outbreak. Of these, almost 11 million have missed or expect to miss a bill that would leave them vulnerable to severe consequences…
Read moreThe UK mobile industry, banking and finance sectors and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have joined forces to prevent criminals from sending scam text messages exploiting the Covid-19 crisis. The ongoing industry initiative by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), Mobile UK and UK Finance, supported by the NCSC, is helping to identify and block…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out its business priorities for the year ahead – with specific focus on the challenges presented by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. In responding to the challenge of coronavirus the FCA will focus on ensuring that financial services businesses give people the support they need, that people avoid scams,…
Read moreOfcom has fined BT £245,000 after an investigation found that the company overcharged EE’s mobile customers for making calls to 118 directory enquiries services. Ofgem said that although use of directory enquiries has declined in recent years, many people still rely on them as an important means of obtaining the number they need. Older people…
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Non-financial behaviours such as social media use and transactional behaviour may be used in future credit risk assessment with implications for access to consumer finance, according to a report released by Registry Trust. The ‘Futures of Credit Risk Assessment in the UK’ report written by Senior Lecturer Joe Deville of Lancaster University and published by…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for Febrruary 2020 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,675 billion at the end of December 2019. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £60,213 and per adult was £31,766, around 112% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose…
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More than three out of ten consumers (34%) say they would be most likely to take on extra debt if they were faced with a sudden gap in their finances, according to new research from R3, the insolvency trade body. Thirteen percent of over 2,000 people surveyed by Savanta ComRes for R3’s latest Personal Debt…
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The Ofcom board has announced the appointment of Dame Melanie Dawes as Chief Executive. Dame Melanie has been Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government since 2015. She will take up her new position in early March. Dame Melanie has held senior roles across the Civil Service, working in partnership across…
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