Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Average UK rents have increased for the sixth consecutive quarter, according to The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS). The research also showed that some tenants are paying above the going rate to secure a property. The UK’s largest protector of deposits, which safeguards 1.8m rent securities, says that average rents now stand at £849 a…
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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its latest cost of living statistics finding that one in four (23%) adults find it difficult to pay household bills in the last month, compared with a year ago. The research also found that nine in ten (87%) adults reported an increase in their cost of living…
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Latest figures from the Insolvency Service have indicated that personal insolvencies in England & Wales increased by 17.2% to 11,530 in March 2022 compared to 9,836 in February and were 5.3% higher than March 2021’s figure of 10,953. There were 2,512 DROs and 633 bankruptcies in March 2022 in England & Wales. The number of…
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Latest figures from UK Finance have indicated that credit card balances have started to creep up as the cost of living started to bite. The figures show that after several months of falls, outstanding balances on credit cards have started to creep up again with balances up 3.8% year on year. Spending had previously been…
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Qualco has announced that it has gone live with a new open banking technology partnership. Working with Ecospend and Themis Global, Qualco UK introduced account-to-account payment options, under a white label model, for a new client, Simon Jersey. The approach includes letters, emails and SMS being sent to customers, containing a unique QR code, which…
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European credit management services provider, Lowell has announced that will acquire Hoist Finance. The transaction includes the operations of Hoist Finance UK and its entire unsecured non-performing loan portfolio, comprising of over 2 million consumer accounts, almost exclusively in the credit card and personal loan sector. The transaction includes the operations of Hoist Finance UK…
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The latest UK Consumer Prices Index (CPI) figures, published by the Office for National Statistics, show that CPI rose to 7 percent in the twelve months to March, up from 6.2 percent in February. Recent research from the Money Advice Trust on the impact of rising costs on households, found that one in seven (an…
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Household saving is expected to fall by 71% year-on-year to an average of £26 a week in the second quarter of 2022, as inflationary pressures drastically reduce families’ ability to save. A new study by Scottish Friendly and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) estimates households would need to earn an extra £80…
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Real average weekly pay packets fell by 1.3 per cent in February, with a far deeper squeeze coming in the months ahead, despite the jobs market continuing to tighten and last year’s furlough flattering the headline pay data, the Resolution Foundation says in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The UK jobs market…
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The new level of state pension payments which has come into effect today will see the full new state pension rise to £185.15 from £179.60 a week. The basic state pension full amount has risen from £137.60 to £141.85 – a rise of 3.1%, compared with a current inflation rate of 6.2%. That’s an extra…
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New research has found that one in four people spent their lockdown savings on paying bills. The research by Opinium on behalf of Hargreaves Lansdown found that 47% of people saved something during the lockdowns, of those who saved something, and could remember how much, around a third saved more than £3,000. Only a third of…
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The latest UK economic outlook from PwC predicts inflation will hit 8.4% later this year. PWC says that the rise in living costs will wipe 2% off household incomes, equivalent to about £900 or as much as £1,300 for the poorest families. If the Ukraine crisis worsens, inflation could peak at 11%. It is predicted…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that Second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 59% in February 2022. 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), said…
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