In a new report, the Credit Services Association (CSA), the UK trade body for the debt collection and debt purchase sector, has called on the Government to improve its methods for collecting debts to help service users more effectively and boost collections revenues. The report praises the accomplishments of the Government Debt Management Function and…
Read moreUK Finance has released its latest data on mortgage arrears and possessions for the final quarter of 2024 with the data showing a rise in housing possession and a slight fall in the total number of homeowner mortgages in arrears. Possession numbers have risen significantly in percentage terms since the artificially low numbers through the…
Read moreNew research by Hargreaves Lansdown has found that being in poor health means your household is less than half as likely to have enough emergency savings as someone who is well (28% compared to 70%). The data shows that households have less than a tenth of the cash left over at the end of the…
Read moreQ4 mortgage data from Pepper Money has revealed that residential arrears increased as borrowing costs rise unexpectedly. The data found that the rate of arrears for residential mortgages grew by 2.4% on Q3, following two consecutive quarters of decline. The arrears rate for fixed rate mortgages grew 8.4%, marking the highest growth rate since Q1…
Read moreHouseholds with unsecured debts (like credit cards and loans) spend an average of £216 a month to repay them according to new research by Hargreaves Lansdown Savings & Resilience Barometer. The research showed that in debt hotspots, almost 20% of income is being spent on repaying unsecured debts. Excluding student loans and mortgages, borrowers owe…
Read moreLatest Bank of England’s Money and Credit data has found that net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals increased by £1 billion to £3.6 billion in December, bouncing back from a decrease in net borrowing of £0.9 billion in November. The annual growth rate for net mortgage lending rose to 1.5%, from 1.3% in November,…
Read moreA new report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has found that more than 1 in 5 people in the UK (21%) were in poverty in 2022/23 – 14.3 million people. Of these, 8.1 million were working-age adults, 4.3 million were children and 1.9 million were pensioners. To put it another way, around 2 in…
Read moreOne in seven retirees are returning to work or are considering doing so, with financial pressures, a lack of pension provision and desire for social connection driving this, according to new research from Standard Life. 7% of retirees aged over 55 have already gone back into work, with a further 2% actively looking for employment.…
Read moreNew Censuswide polling from StepChange Debt Charity finds that just over two in five (41%) GB adults – equivalent to 21.3 million people – expect their financial situation to worsen over the next 12 months. The findings show that meeting the cost of living and higher energy bills this month is a major factor driving…
Read moreLatest data from Accountant in Bankruptcy has found that personal insolvency numbers (bankruptcies and protected trust deeds) in Scotland for Quarter 3 (Q3) 2024-2025 decreased by 11.4% compared with the same quarter in 2023-2024, which totalled at 1,784. The number of personal insolvencies (bankruptcies and protected trust deeds) in Scotland also decreased by 6% when…
Read moreA coalition of organisations including StepChange Debt Charity, Christians Against Poverty, Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, Money Advice Trust and six others has written to the Government reiterating a call to end imprisonment for non-payment of council tax. The coalition claims the rule is “outdated” and “disproportionate,” as it continues to campaign for reform…
Read moreStepChange Scotland has revealed a rise in the proportion of people struggling to keep up with their energy bills, council tax and mortgage at the outset of 2025. New data from the charity for the final quarter of 2024 shows over one in five (21%) clients with a responsibility for paying a mortgage are in…
Read morePeople in debt have lost £48.8 million on fees for failed Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA), with many steered into an inappropriate debt solution by unscrupulous firms offering bad advice according to research by Citizens Advice. The charity has found two thirds of people were not told a key piece of information before entering into an…
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