Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New analysis from debt advice provider PayPlan has found that the average person seeking debt advice in 2026 is juggling 10 separate unsecured debts (such as credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts) totalling £22,717 – and is left with just £194 a month once essential living costs are met. The findings, drawn from 24,406 people…
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More than six million people who expect to pay housing costs in retirement don’t know how they’ll afford them, according to the latest research from Royal London. The research found that around one in three UK adults (34%), equivalent to 18.7 million people, either expect to pay housing costs in retirement or are already doing so. Four in ten (39%) of the approximately 16…
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Households will have suffered a £2,400 financial hit, on average, from the Iran war by the end of 2027 according to new analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) calculating that there has been jump in inflation since the conflict began, and weaker wage growth, will knock £1,100 off the real income…
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New research from StepChange Debt Charity has revealed growing concern about household finances, with millions of people worried about how they will cope as energy costs are expected to rise ahead of winter. The data shows that two in five (41%) British adults, equivalent to around 22 million people, expect their finances to worsen over…
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Prime Minister (PM) Andy Burnham’s early cost-of-living measures may have given households some immediate relief. Still, nearly two-thirds of UK consumers (63%) are concerned that the Government’s recently announced policies could ultimately leave their household worse off, according to new research from Novuna Personal Finance. The findings come after the Government decided to remove VAT…
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Latest data from UK Finance has found that residential and buy-to-let mortgage arrears and possessions fell in Q2 2026. A total of 1,150 homeowner mortgaged properties were taken into possession, an 8% fall from the previous quarter and a 14% decrease compared with the same period a year earlier. There were 630 buy-to-let mortgaged properties…
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Middle income earners are increasingly falling into financial precarity, according to a report by lender Plend and investment specialist Triple Point, with 40% of those unable to cover a sudden £300 bill, the Financial Conduct Authority’s own benchmark for financial resilience, now earning above the national median salary. A third of UK adults (35%) are…
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New polling from StepChange Debt Charity reveals that almost one in six (15%) of adults, equivalent to more than 8 million people, find keeping up with their credit card repayments a very or fairly large burden each month, highlighting the growing challenge of credit card debt across the UK. The research, conducted by YouGov on…
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Latest monthly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales for June 2026 show that there were 11,871 personal insolvencies, 5% higher than in May 2026 and 16% higher than in June 2025. The insolvencies consisted of 674 bankruptcies, 3,879 debt relief orders (DROs) and 7,318 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs). The 7,318 IVAs registered in…
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Holiday childcare costs across Great Britain have risen by 5% in the last year, leaving working parents facing an average bill of £191 per child per week – or £1,145 for the six-week summer holiday according to Coram Family and Childcare research. The survey finds that holiday childcare continues to cost almost three times as much as after-school childcare during…
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Thousands of people in financial crisis will get faster access to the help they need, thanks to a £900,000 technology boost to speed up debt relief order (DRO) applications. The new technology will allow debt advisers to send DRO cases directly to the Insolvency Service portal. The move will make the DRO application process more…
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StepChange Debt Charity has welcomed the long-awaited Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) regulation coming into force on Wednesday this week (15th July), which will mean all BNPL products come under FCA regulation and include consumer protections in line with borrowing such as credit cards and personal loans. The charity has laid out what the changes…
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Recent changes to Debt Relief Orders (DROs) have successfully enabled more people in financial difficulty to access debt relief, according to an Insolvency Service review. The review assessed the impact of the 2021 and 2024 reforms, which raised the maximum debt level, increased the asset allowances, and widened access for people with low incomes and low…
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