Tenants with covid rent debts see arrears increase

Average rent debts still owed by renters as a result of the pandemic have increased by 41 per cent since May according to the latest research by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). A survey of over 2,000 private renters in England and Wales by research consultancy Dynata has found that average COVID related rent…

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Lenders announce moratorium on possessions over Christmas

9th December 2021 Consumer Lending | #possesions

Mortgage lenders have announced a voluntary moratorium on possessions from Monday 13th December until Tuesday 4th January 2022. The industry is committed to providing ongoing support to those in financial difficulty as a result of the pandemic, especially those who may be worried about making their mortgage payments over the Christmas period. Members of UK…

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Unsecured debt levels increase in line with spending

8th December 2021 Arrears and Recoveries | #arrears

New analysis by UK Finance has indicated that unsecured debt levels have increased in line with spending, but customers continue to pay off their card bills on time each month. The analysis also indicated that mortgage arrears ticked down overall but heavier arrears continued to rise. Possessions increased slowly but a substantial backlog of cases…

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Rising costs could push household spend up £1,700 a year

New analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) suggests a typical UK family will spend £1,700 more per year on household costs in 2022. The forecast for the BBC’s Panorama says a family of two adults and two children is set to spend £33.60 more per week compared with December 2020 due…

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FCA calls on lenders to amend criteria to help mortgage prisoners

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has urged banks and building societies to consider changing lending criteria to help an estimated 47,000 borrowers who could benefit from a cheaper mortgage but are currently unable to move. The regulator’s review of mortgage prisoners found that about 195,000 households have had debts sold on to inactive lenders, with…

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2021 Credit & Collections Technology Company Power List announced

Credit Connect has announced its annual Credit & Collections Technology company power list for 2021. The third edition of the power list is a round-up of the most prominent innovating companies within credit and collections technology. Credit Connect has identified the top 20 ‘Premier’ innovators highlighting the achievements and successes of the top-performing companies. The…

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Demand for consumer credit surges to £706m in October

Latest Bank of England data has shown that October saw a surge in credit card borrowing. Consumers borrowed a net additional £706 million last month, with new credit card borrowing accounting for £637 million of the credit, the largest amount of card borrowing since July last year. Between the start of the pandemic and April…

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Money Statistics: November 2021

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for November 2021 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,749.2 billion at the end of September 2021. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £62,938 and per adult was £33,072, around 108.6% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…

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Credit & Collections Technology Think Tank review

15th November 2021 Arrears and Recoveries | #technology

Credit Connect’s hosted its inaugural Credit & Collections Technology Think Tank at the beginning of November in Manchester which saw credit and collections strategies and the impact of the pandemic discussed by sixteen professionals from a variety of industry sectors at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. The themes of credit and collections risk, affordability, vulnerability…

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Landlord possessions increase

12th November 2021 Arrears and Recoveries | #possessions

The number of landlord possession actions for all court stages have increased compared to the same quarter of last year but remains significantly reduced in comparison to the same quarter in 2019 according to the latest Ministry of Justice (MOJ) statistics. As a result of coronavirus and associated policy actions, all landlord possession actions have…

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Mortgage arrears continue to fall to near historic lows

12th November 2021 Arrears and Recoveries | #arrears

Mortgage arrears continued to fall to near historic lows, with the government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme remaining in place until September. according to the latest UK Finance statistics. Possessions meanwhile have slightly risen in absolute terms, off a low base, as the courts work through a backlog of cases that built up during the possessions…

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Bank repossession claims increase by 50%

11th November 2021 Arrears and Recoveries | #repossessions

Homeowners hit by the pandemic are now losing their homes, evicted by banks in court hearings, a joint probe by Money Mail and The Bureau Of Investigative Journalism has found. The ban on bailiff-led evictions was extended until the end of May in England and the end of June in Wales. But the research has…

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2.8m people with mental health problems fell into council tax debt during pandemic

11th November 2021 Consumer Collections | #mental health

Over 2.8 million people with mental health problems fell into council tax debt during pandemic according to new research by Money and Mental Health. The research shows that people with mental health problems have been hit particularly hard financially during the pandemic, with two in five suffering a drop in income, and three in ten…

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