Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Analysis by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has found that council tax arrears rose by almost £1,500 every minute last year as ministers face calls to stop struggling households being pushed deeper into problem debt. The data showed that unpaid council tax in England increased by £782 million in 2025/26, taking the total outstanding…
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More than four in ten people struggling with debt wait over a year before seeking help, according to research from StepChange Debt Charity and PRA Group. The study of more than 1,600 debt management plan client, found that 43% worried about their finances for more than a year before seeking advice. Embarrassment was the most common…
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Days before the Chancellor delivers the Autumn Budget, more than half of adults (52%) expect it to leave them worse off, according to new research from Creditspring, with just 12% expecting to be better off, so pessimists outnumber optimists by more than four to one. The research shows that many households go into the Budget with…
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More than a third (36%) of households in Britain with an annual income of less than £40,000 have skipped meals or eaten less because of financial pressures in the last three months, according to the latest Vanquis Financial Wellbeing Index. Over the same period, more than a quarter (27%) have delayed medical or dental treatment…
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Average active UK credit card balances surpassed £2,000 in August, marking a historic high, according to FICO. Payment rates fell after a brief recovery, contributing to increased balances. Average spending rose by 3.1% month-on-month to £840, 3.3% year-on-year, marking the highest annual growth rate in over a year. The average credit limit also crossed £6,000…
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New research from the Centre for Responsible Credit has found that around 3.5 million low- to middle-income households in Britain, 44% of those who use credit, cannot afford both their essential living costs and their credit repayments. For these households, the median budget shortfall is around £633 a month. The report analyses Bank of England/NMG…
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Just under half (49%) of working women are now classed as financially vulnerable, compared to 35% of men, according to analysis by the financial wellbeing firm Hymans Robertson Personal Wealth. The research investigated the financial wellbeing of the UK workforce, lifting the lid on how frequently they have stressful feelings about their finances and where…
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More than half (52%) of adults aged 25-55 have experienced a major life event, such as redundancy, serious illness, bereavement, or relationship breakdown, in the last three years, according to new research commissioned by the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline. These events often have significant financial consequences, with one in five…
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Fewer than one in ten (9%) adults with living parents have discussed how finances should be managed if they developed a condition such as dementia. This is despite more than half (53%) saying they would feel comfortable having the conversation, according to new research from Nationwide. A lack of preparedness means that nearly a quarter…
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Latest Bank of England data (Quarter 3 2026) has shown that credit card defaults increased in the three months to August, with banks and building societies expecting further rises by November, highlighting growing risks in unsecured lending. Within the overall figure, demand for credit card lending was unchanged. Mortgage defaults fell slightly and are expected…
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The past five years of a near-continuous cost of living crisis have caused the real incomes of typical working-age households to fall rather than grow, leaving them £2,900 (7.9 per cent) worse off this year compared to a world of normal inflation, according to new analysis published by the Resolution Foundation. The report Counting the…
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Half of young adults in the UK say a lack of financial education directly contributed to their housing struggles, according to new research published today by financial education charity Money Ready and funded by the Berkeley Foundation. Launched ahead of World Homeless Day, the findings highlight that millions of young people are entering the housing…
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Households experiencing financial difficulties are struggling to build the financial resilience needed to cope with unexpected costs, leaving many vulnerable to being unable to pay for expenses such as car repairs, broken appliances and emergency dental treatment. This is a key finding from research by StepChange Debt Charity supported by PRA Group. Among the 1,600…
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