Home repossessions increase by 19%

15th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

Home repossessions have increased by 19 per cent to 1,330 in the third quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year, new figures from UK Finance have revealed. UK Finance says the slight increase in possessions has been driven in part by a backlog of historic cases which are being processed in line…

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Second charge repossessions decrease by 30%

14th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that the number of second charge mortgage repossessions in Q3 2019 was 25, 30.1% lower than in the third quarter of 2018. The rate of second charge mortgage repossessions (as a percentage of outstanding agreements) was 0.06% in the twelve months to September 2019.…

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Arrow sets fund management objective

13th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

Debt purchasing group Arrow Global is to develop its fund management capabilities after swallowing a 15.1% rise in costs related to IFRS 16. Despite the group’s profits before tax increasing 65.6% to £42.4m and cashflow increasing 14.7% to £174.4m, underlying profits fell 5.4% to £50.4m in the nine months ending in September. Commenting on the…

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Council tax collection practices ‘counter-productive’ says Citizens Advice

13th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

Households struggling to pay their council tax are being pushed into further debt as outdated regulations see councils resort to bailiffs to collect arrears, says Citizens Advice in its latest research. Citizens Advice says under current rules when people miss a single council tax payment they automatically became liable for the full year’s bill. The…

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CSA maintains Silver accreditation from Investor in Customers

12th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Credit Services Association, the voice of the UK debt collection and debt purchase sectors, has maintained its Silver accreditation from Investor in Customers, and it has been congratulated for continuing to provide an outstanding experience to its Members. The independent Investor in Customers (IIC) assessment process surveys employees, management and customers to determine the…

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Business owners depressed and suicidal over late payment

11th November 2019 Arrears and Recoveries |

Nine out of 10 business owners across construction suffer a range of mental health issues due to payment and other business pressures, according to a survey run by leading engineering services trade bodies BESA and ECA. The new survey, conducted in association with 25 other construction trade bodies, found that business owners have an array…

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Ofgem calls for fair customer treatment of failed energy firms customers

11th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

Energy regulator, Ofgem has called for insolvency firms to treat customers more fairly when they are left in debt when energy companies collapse. Fourteen small energy firms have exited the domestic energy market since 2018. Toto Energy became the seventh small supplier to go out of business this year in October – just three months…

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ELECTION: Calls on parties to use election manifestos to tackle problem debt crisis

7th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

StepChange debt charity has published the key measures that it wants the next Government to prioritise to address the harm of problem debt and to help households build greater financial resilience for the future. The StepChange election manifesto calls on each of the political parties to commit to these measures during the General Election campaign.…

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Second charge mortgage market increases by 20% in September

6th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

New figures released  by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that the second charge mortgage market has reported that volumes are up by 20% in September Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Interim Director General of the FLA, said “The second charge mortgage market reported…

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HCEOA responds to VAT on High Court Enforcement fees research

6th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

High Court Enforcement Agencies have been incorrectly charging VAT on top of their fees to debtors according to research by Just Digital Marketplace. Efforts to obtain clarification on the correct approach were led by the firm. Just says that it sought advice from the VAT barrister, Melanie Hall QC, of Monkton Chambers and then consulted…

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Consumer spending grows by 1.5% in October

5th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

Consumer spending grew by just 1.5 percent in October, narrowly falling behind the current rate of inflation, as consumers remained cautious with their spending according to new data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, shows that essential spending grew slightly by 0.2 percent, bolstered by a 1.5…

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Capita renews mortgage contract with Co-operative Bank

4th November 2019 Consumer Collections |

Capita has announced that it has renewed its contract with The Co-operative Bank to run its mortgage servicing operation in the UK and to continue to support the bank’s digitally enabled transformation. The renewed contract is worth up to £141million over six years, of which £107 million is incremental to Capita’s current contract with the…

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Households owe £267m to energy suppliers

1st November 2019 Consumer Collections |

2.3 million households (8%) owe £267 million to energy suppliers before winter begins – averaging £115 each according to new research by Uswitch Averaging £115 per household, the debt level is £126 million less (32%) than last year, while the number of bill payers in arrears has also reduced by 610,000 (21%). Record switching rates,…

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