Consumer borrowing remains steady

30th July 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Bank of England has announced its latest Money & Credit statistics which showed that the extra amount borrowed by consumers to buy goods and services was £1 billion in June, in line with the average of the past year. Annual lending growth to UK consumers slowed to 5.5% in June however, from 5.7% in…

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Rise in 18-25 year-olds entering personal insolvency predicted

26th July 2019 Consumer Collections |

RSM is predicting that official figures, due to be published next Tuesday, will show a 9 per cent rise in personal insolvency rates in England and Wales in quarter two when compared to the same quarter last year. The data from Tracker, RSM’s early online warning system, predicts that total insolvencies for the quarter will reach…

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Households miss out on switch savings

25th July 2019 Consumer Collections |

Households are missing out on savings of over £400 by failing to switch the energy, home and car insurance providers. Research from comparethemarket.com has shown that the top three regions where households can save the most by switching are the West Midlands (£732), the East Midlands (£665) and the North East (£660). The insight from…

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Money Statistics: July 2019

24th July 2019 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for July 2019: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,640 billion at the end of May 2019. This is up from £1,592 billion at the end of May 2018, an extra £922 per UK adult over the year. The average total debt per household, including mortgages,…

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FCA launches fair treatment of vulnerable customers consultation

23rd July 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation on proposed guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. The guidance sets out the FCA’s view of what the FCA Principles require of firms to ensure that vulnerable consumers are consistently treated fairly across financial services sectors. The FCA wants to see doing…

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Ofcom’s new measures cut charges for out of contract customers

23rd July 2019 Consumer Collections |

Ofcom has set out a range of measures to increase fairness for mobile customers – including greater transparency, fairer contract terms and a range of price cuts by operators. Many mobile customers pay for both their handset and its usage (or ‘airtime’) bundled together in a single contract. Ofcom said that they have been concerned that…

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Personal insolvencies increase for third successive year

18th July 2019 Consumer Collections |

More women than men in England and Wales became insolvent in 2018, following a pattern which has been in place for several years, says insolvency trade body R3, commenting on the annual personal insolvency statistics released by the Insolvency Service. The statistics all showed that the total rate for personal insolvencies increased for the third…

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Consumer finance new business decreased by 2% in May

5th July 2019 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell in May by 2%, compared with the same month last year. The retail store and online credit sector reported new business up in May by 2% compared with the same month in 2018, while credit card and personal…

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Money Statistics: June 2019

1st July 2019 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for June 2019: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,637 billion at the end of April 2019. This is up from £1,588 billion at the end of April 2018, an extra £946.00 per UK adult over the year. The average total debt per…

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‘Loyalty penalty deadline passes without enough action from regulators’

19th June 2019 Consumer Collections |

Citizens Advice has said that it is concerned that loyal customers have been penalised by nearly £3 billion since it submitted its super-complaint. The charity lodged a super-complaint in September calling for the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to outline how the loyalty penalty could be fixed in five essential markets (mobile, broadband, home insurance,…

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Government proposes new powers to fine firms that exploit consumer loyalty

18th June 2019 Consumer Collections |

Firms that overcharge or mislead their customers could be hit with direct fines without the need to go through a court, under plans unveiled by Business Secretary Greg Clark. The government has confirmed it will consult on giving the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) new powers to decide itself whether consumer law has been broken,…

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Ofcom Chief Executive steps down

6th June 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Ofcom Board has announced that Sharon White is to step down as Chief Executive. White is leaving to become Chair of The John Lewis Partnership. She is expected to leave Ofcom around the turn of the year. White joined Ofcom in March 2015 from HM Treasury where she was Second Permanent Secretary. Lord Burns,…

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Ofcom makes fairness for customers commitment

3rd June 2019 Consumer Collections |

The UK’s biggest broadband, phone and pay TV companies have committed to put fairness at the heart of their business, after signing up to Ofcom’s new Fairness for Customers commitments. Ofcom has developed commitments to strengthen how companies treat their customers. They aim to help ensure people are always treated fairly by their provider –…

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