Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline, has responded to figures which show that council tax arrears for households in England have reached £5.5 billion by calling for urgent reform of council tax collection rules. Current rules mean that households can be liable for their full annual bill after…
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New polling from StepChange Debt Charity has revealed 45% of mortgage holders, equivalent to 6.9m UK adults, have found it difficult to keep up with bills and credit commitments in the last few months. The new figures, which come as the Bank of England is expected to again raise interest rates today, show that two…
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Two in five people (40%) have been hit by an unexpected expense in the past 12 months costing them £1,851, up £394 in a year.according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown. The unexpected bill was most common among those aged 18-34 – half of whom had an unexpected expense (49%). Half (49%) of people were able to cover…
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Latest quarterly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvency numbers increase by 5% in May 2023 when compared with May 2022. The personal insolvency figures also increased by 10.7% in May 2023 to a total of 9,962 compared to April’s total of 9,002, and decreased by 5.1% compared…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) have shown that second charge mortgage new business volumes fell by 22% in April 2023 Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Director of Consumer & Mortgage Finance and Inclusion at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA),…
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An estimated 5.5 million people (one in ten adults) were behind on their energy bills in April, an increase of 2.1 million compared to March 2022 according to new research from the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline. The charity’s Under Pressure research, based on an Opinium survey…
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Less than half of children have been taught about money at home or in school, according to a new report from the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS). Financial Foundations, based on a survey of 4,740 children aged 7-17, found that just 47% had received a meaningful financial education in either or both settings. The figure…
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New research by TotallyMoney has predicted the impact of the Bank of England’s hiking interest rates by a further 0.25% (to 4.75%) on borrowers with a variable rate mortgage head of the next MPC announcement on the 22nd of June. The research found that for the average UK property costing £270,708 with a 75% LTV,…
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Households have faced more than a year of high inflation and rising interest rates and the impact of both is becoming more apparent according to new UK Finance data. The research found that squeezed budgets and higher financing costs are bearing down more heavily on affordability for prospective house buyers. The same pressures are, as…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a ban on referral fees for debt packager firms. The ban applies to all new debt packager firms and will come into play for existing firms in October 2023, and follows a review that found evidence of debt packagers appearing to manipulate customers’ details so that they meet…
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Research from Freedom Finance has revealed that the growing demand for consumer credit is being underpinned by a move for consumers to consolidate debt. The analysis found that forty-one percent (41%) of all people who searched for a loan through Freedom Finance’s platform in April 2023 were looking to consolidate debt. The second most common reason…
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Temporary measures forcing lenders to offer greater support to borrowers in financial difficulties could become permanent, under new proposals announced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The FCA also announced that 17 lenders will pay up to £47 million in redress to financially-distressed borrowers, after failing to offer appropriate support. The payments will be made…
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Figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday show that UK inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI), came in at 8.7% for April, down from March’s 10.1% but far above the 8.4% hoped for by the Bank of England. The news sent expectations of further interest rate rises soaring and…
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