Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
UK Finance has shared its latest credit and debit card data which has highlighted an increase in credit card usage when compared to 2021. The date showed that were 343 million credit card transactions in June, 10.7 per cent more than in June 2021. The total spend of £19 billion was 18.7 per cent higher…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has published its Market Compliance Review of how energy suppliers help customers in payment difficulties and has found issues ranging from minor through to severe weaknesses, or failings. The research found that, although good practice exists across the industry, with one supplier having no issues, most need to make improvements in processes…
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Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced a series of tax cuts and financial support in the mini budget on Friday (23rd September). The Chancellor announced changes to income tax and stamp duty, alongside plans to cut taxes for businesses in designated sites for ten years to support investment, jobs and growth, and cancelled the planned increase in…
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Almost two in five households (38%) wrongly believe that the Government’s energy price guarantee means their bills cannot go above £2,500, according to new research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service. The measures announced by Prime Minister Liz Truss will support people with their energy bills, and avoid the nightmare scenario of Ofgem’s price…
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One in three mortgage customers say that rising interest rates mean they cannot afford their repayments, new research commissioned by Butterfield Mortgages has found. The independent survey of 2,000 UK adults found that a third (33%) of mortgage holders believe the interest rate hikes over the past year have made their mortgage repayments unaffordable. Among…
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One-fifth of UK adults are already behind on one or more household bill, and one in nine have gone without food as a result of rising costs, according to new research from the Money Advice Trust. While the government’s Energy Price Guarantee removes the risk of energy bills climbing even further, the charity, which runs…
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Latest Bank of England figures have shown that the total value of all outstanding residential mortgage loans was at £1,648 billion at the end of 2022 Q2, 3.8% higher than a year earlier when the outstanding value came to £1.590 billion. The value of gross mortgage advances in 2022 Q2 was £77.9 billion, which was…
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The energy price freeze still leaves low-income families facing a vast gap compared to last year as rising costs outstrip government support, new research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has found. JRF estimates today’s announcement – that energy prices will be capped at £2,500 including the £400 energy bill rebate – is worth on…
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New Prime Minister Liz Truss has announced plans that will limit energy bill rises for all households for two years. The measures will mean that a typical household energy bill will be capped at £2,500 annually until 2024, saving households £1,000 a year on the energy price cap announced for October. Commenting on the announcement…
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Before further government measures are expected to be announced later today (Thursday 8th September) new data from Comparethemarket has revealed that one in two households (56%) are not confident they will be able to afford energy bills this winter, rising to two-thirds of families (64%) with children at home. Households say, on average, they will…
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The number of people classed as ‘financially vulnerable’ has risen from 2.7% to 4.4% of the population since the start of the pandemic and continues to rise as the cost-of-living crisis intensifies. That’s according to research into 13 million consumer debt profiles conducted by UK leading debt recovery specialist TDX Group, an Equifax company, which…
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Customers are demanding on as many as seven different ways to interact with payment and collections teams, including newer channels not commonly known for business use such as WhatsApp and Snapchat, according to research from conversational AI specialist Webio. The Webio Customer Connections report, based on a survey of 2,000 UK adults exploring their experiences…
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Between April and June 2022, the number of households falling behind on their utility bills grew by 14% (295,000), to hit 2.7 million, or one in 10 UK households, according to new figures released by credit reference agency Equifax. On 1st April 2022, Ofgem increased the energy price cap from £1,277 to £1,971. In the…
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