Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
People claiming Universal Credit are still struggling to pay for the roof over their heads, despite the wait for their first payment being reduced from six weeks to five, according to new Citizens Advice data. One in two people the charity helped were in rent arrears or fell behind on their mortgage payments, the same…
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The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has released its latest report which shows that it has dealt with around 3,300 inquiries about debt collection and took on over 1,000 new complaints for investigation in 2018. The complaints cover credit and consumer loans, such as mortgages, credit cards and personal or business loans. They don’t include household debts…
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The Bank of England has today published its latest monthly Money and Credit report showing consumer credit growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the year to December 2018. Outstanding balances for consumer credit stand at £215.6 billion. The Bank of England says that the credit growth slow down reflects the continuation of relatively weak flows…
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Latest figures from the Insolvency Service for Northern Ireland show that there were 73 company insolvencies between October and December. 34 were compulsory liquidations while 26 were creditors’ voluntary liquidations. There were also eight administrations and five company voluntary arrangements. That total of 73 was 19.8 percent lower than the same quarter in 2017 and…
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Business process outsourcing (BPO) Target Group and operational has announced the appointment of two hires in the client services and business development teams. Neil Glover joins as Business Development Director, while Target also added David Facenfield as a Client Development Director within the client services team, as Target looks to strengthen its offering to clients.…
Read moreThe Insolvency Service has published the latest personal insolvency statistics for England and Wales for Quarter 4 2018 (October to December 2018) which show that that the percentage of IVAs failing within the first year has increased for the fourth consecutive year. The figures also show that 9% of IVAs registered in 2011 and 3%…
Read moreNearly one million (900,000) people who’ve never switched energy supplier could cover the cost of their Christmas borrowing by changing to a better deal. New analysis from Citizens Advice shows that around 3.2 million people in Britain borrowed up to £150 to cover the cost of Christmas in 2018, almost 1 million of whom have…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for January 2019: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.613 trillion at the end of November 2018. This is up from £1.569 trillion at the end of November 2017, an extra £898.71 per UK adult and £78.15 higher than the previous month. The…
Read moreOur Power, an energy supplier with about 38,000 domestic customers, has ceased to trade. Under Ofgem’s safety net, the energy supply of Our Power’s customers will continue and pre payment meters can be topped up as normal. The outstanding credit balances of domestic customers will be protected. Ofgem will choose a new supplier to take…
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Consumers are starting 2019 with outstanding borrowing from 2017, with 3.1 million people still paying for Christmas 2017 according to a new study by Sainsbury’s Bank Credit Cards. The study found more than a quarter (27%) of people have debt remaining from two years ago. This New Year, UK adults still owe money from 2017…
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Slough Borough Council is to become the latest local authority to pass unpaid debts to ethical credit management firm Intrum in a bid to enhance the experience of residents and raise revenue for the borough. The agreement with H&F Ethical Collections, the joint venture partnership set up by Intrum UK and Hammersmith & Fulham Council…
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New survey findings commissioned from YouGov by StepChange Debt Charity reveal that more than a quarter of us (27%) started the New Year feeling uneasy about our finances. Among people who feel uneasy, two thirds (65%) have felt this way for more than a year. A fifth (22%) have felt uneasy for more than five…
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Local authorities from across the UK will next month come together to discuss ways of transforming their debt collection practices. Credit management firm Intrum UK and its joint venture partner Hammersmith & Fulham Council have launched an ethical debt collection conference to drive change in council collections after a series of reports suggested the public…
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