Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
As consumers brace themselves for the higher prices kicking in from today (1st April) across bills including energy, water and broadband, those on the lowest incomes are running out of options, Citizens Advice warns. Households in the lowest 10% for income already spend around two-fifths (41%) of their earnings, after housing – on water, energy,…
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A new survey by Ocean Finance has found that 73% are worried about affording their essential bills this Spring. Millions of households across the UK are set to be hit with yet another wave of bill increases this April, with hikes expected across council tax, broadband, water, energy, and phone contracts. 42% say they’ve already…
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A new study by Go.Compare has revealed that an estimated 6.6 million people now rely on their credit cards to pay everyday bills such as groceries and utilities. In total, 17% said they need their card to afford their bills, with 13% stating that the cost of living crisis is the reason for this. This…
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Ofcom has announced new measures meaning that telecom providers must now set out upfront, in pounds and pence, any price rises that will apply to customer contracts. Ofcom says that in recent years, many phone, broadband and pay TV companies have included price rises in their contract terms that were linked to unknown future inflation…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for October 2024 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,864.9 billion at the end of August 2024. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,665 and per adult was £34,536, around 95.6% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending increased by…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for September 2024 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,860.6 billion at the end of July 2024. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,515 and per adult was £34,457, around 95.8% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending increased by…
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New Which? research has found energy and broadband customers lost an estimated £298m and 27.3 million hours to poor customer service in a year, as the consumer champion challenges firms to make urgent improvements. Which? surveyed more than 4,000 people to uncover how many people had a customer service issue in the year to May…
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The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has released its provisional findings on the proposed merger between Vodafone and Three, raising concerns that the deal could lead to higher prices and reduced service quality for millions of UK mobile customers. The investigation, led by an independent inquiry group, has provisionally concluded that the merger would…
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Credit Connect has published its first-ever annual Credit & Collections Industry Awards Review. The annual review highlights why the judges decided the winners at this year’s Industry Awards which were announced in July. The review provides background and context for the awards results recognising companies for the progression of industry standards and excellence. The review…
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Phone, broadband and pay-TV companies are to be banned from imposing mid-contract price increases linked to inflation following a new crackdown announced by the Ofcom. Under the new consumer protection rules telecoms customers must be told upfront in pounds and pence about any price rises their provider includes in their contract,. Ofcom says that in…
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Latest data from UK-leading fraud prevention service, Cifas has shown a sharp rise in criminals targeting the telecoms sector to carry out facility takeover fraud. More than 374,000 cases were filed to the National Fraud Database (NFD) in 2023, and of this, cases of facility takeover fraud – where a criminal utilises compromised personal data…
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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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New research by Ofcom has found that four in five telecoms customers who look for information about debt support turn to their telecoms provider for information. Ofcom says that it keeps a close eye on levels of debt in the UK telecoms market and monitors how vulnerable customers are treated by providers. Last year, our data showed…
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