Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A fifth of UK consumers choose everyday service providers – such as mobile phone, utilities and broadband companies – solely based on the perks and benefits they offer, according to new research from Echo Managed Services. The research, based on a nationally-representative sample of 1,000 UK adults, revealed that a quarter of all consumers are significantly…
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EE has been fined £2.7 million by Ofcom for overcharging tens of thousands of its customers. The penalty is the result of an investigation into the mobile phone provider, which found that the company broke a fundamental billing rule on two separate occasions. First, EE customers who called the company’s ‘150’ customer services number while…
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Household bills rose by almost £200 in 2016 according to new findings from comparethemarket.com. An analysis of costs across energy, motor and home insurance found that, after a £180 drop in 2015, bills rose by 9.7% in the past year from £2,032 in 2015 to £2,223 in 2016. Key finings in the report included: The…
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Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have published an update on their joint action plan to tackle nuisance calls and texts>The latest update highlights recent targeted enforcement action, new ‘blocking’ measures to help stop nuisance calls getting through to consumers and progress in their call tracing work. It also summarises how Ofcom is working to…
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Nearly half a million young people are struggling to cope with the cost of running their mobile phone, according to new research from National Debtline, run by the Money Advice Trust. Newly-published findings from the charity’s Borrowed Years research, based on a survey of 2,042 18 to 24 year olds conducted online by YouGov, reveal…
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Equifax has commented that the clock has started for Telco businesses to prepare for new data protection rules. Neil Compton, Telco and Utilities Director at Equifax said “Privacy and data protection are high on the agenda for consumers and regulators. Telcos are custodians of vast amounts of data and must start overhauling their procedures now to…
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The growing prevalence of online billing is putting businesses and service providers at risk of losing touch with customers according to new research, which reveals that almost one in three consumers have become distant from their bills as a result. The research of a nationally representative sample of 1,000 UK adults by Echo Managed Services, revealed…
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Vodafone will be fined £4,625,000 by Ofcom for serious and sustained breaches of consumer protection rules. The Ofcom investigation uncovered mis-selling, inaccurate billing and poor complaints handling procedures The penalty is the result of two investigations into Vodafone completed by Ofcom. One investigation found that 10,452 pay-as-you-go customers lost out when Vodafone failed to credit their…
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TalkTalk has been issued with a record £400,000 fine by the ICO for security failings that allowed a cyber attacker to access customer data “with ease”. The ICO’s in-depth investigation found that an attack on the company last October could have been prevented if TalkTalk had taken basic steps to protect customers’ information. ICO investigators…
Read moreCallcredit Information Group, backed by private equity firm, GTCR, has acquired Recipero. Recipero has built one of the world’s largest proprietary databases containing detailed information of the history and ownership of mobile devices, in a deal designed to accelerate the growth of the company’s fraud and identity protection strategy. Mike Gordon, CEO, Callcredit Information Group,…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for September 2016: Personal Debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.496 trillion at the end of July 2016. This is up from £1.444 trillion at the end of July 2015 – an extra £1,028.50 per UK adult. Per adult in the UK that’s…
Read moreLowell GFKL Group has announced that it has acquired Tesch Inkasso, a German third party collections company. Lowell GFKL Group, backed by the Permira Funds and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, has entered into an agreement to acquire Tesch Inkasso Group from Avedon Capital Partners and the other existing shareholders. Closing is subject to certain regulatory…
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A report by charity Stepchange has found that bailiffs, government departments and bailiffs are among the most unfair when dealing with people in problem debt. The report titled Creditor and debt collector conduct: What’s making debt problems worse? also found that some creditors are failing to take vulnerabilities such as depression and other ongoing mental health conditions into…
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