Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New analysis from Age UK has indicated that one-in-five (21 per cent) older households are living in poverty or just above the poverty line and/ or are in receipt of income-related benefits. The Charity is warning that these older households, which include some of the poorest and most vulnerable older people in England, will miss…
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The Chancellor’s failure to support families through the cost of living crisis will mean that absolute poverty is expected to rise by 1.3 million people next year according to the Resolution Foundation’s analysis of Spring Statement 2022. Inflation Nation shows that faced with an unprecedented squeeze on family’s household finances and a significant boost to…
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New analysis by Jubilee Debt Campaign has found that the number of households struggling with a heavy debt burden has increased by a third in 2021. According to the analysis of the Bank of England’s household survey, the percentage of households reporting that loan and interest payments were a heavy financial burden increased by 35%…
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More than three-quarters of Scottish adults impacted by debt during the pandemic say their mental health has been negatively impacted by it according to new polling for Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS). Polling for the charity by YouGov found that 77 per cent of Scottish adults in debt or at risk of debt since the Covid-19…
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A new report from Demos, produced in partnership with Lowell has identified a number of areas subject to the ‘double whammy’ of high financial vulnerability and limited access to affordable credit. As UK households are hit by rising prices, the latest update to the UK Financial Vulnerability Index (FVI), a joint project of Lowell and…
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New analysis from the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) highlights the stark impact of a scheduled real-terms cut to benefits next month, as rising energy costs threaten to devastate the living standards of families on the lowest incomes. The analysis shows the impact of rising energy costs on household budgets. It finds that once housing…
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One in seven (an estimated 7.9 million) UK adults is behind on at least one household bill and one in eight (an estimated 6.2 million) have gone without heating, water or electricity in the last three months as a result of rising costs, according to new research from the Money Advice Trust. The charity, which…
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New polling from StepChange Debt Charity has indicated that millions of people expect to fall into problem debt this year due to the rise in the cost of living, energy price caps and National Insurance contributions . The representative survey, conducted by YouGov, shows that one in five people (21%) thinks that external financial pressures…
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New research published by Citizens Advice has predicted that £145-a-month hikes to energy costs in October could mean one in four adults, equivalent to 14.5 million people, will be unable to afford their bills. The figure is up from around five million saying they already can’t afford April’s price increase of £60-a-month. The charity included…
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People suffering financial hardship should receive better support from phone and broadband providers under proposals published by Ofcom. Ofcom’s recent research, around 1.1 million households (5%) are struggling to afford their broadband. That rises to around one in ten among the lowest-income households. With affordability problems only likely to worsen this year because of the…
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Ecospend has announced a partnership with Anglian Water where it will begin processing customer payments using open banking technology. Pay-by-bank technology will enable Anglian Water to receive instant account to account payments, which will reduce the utility provider’s processing costs. The partnership will also enable a range of new payment functionalities for Anglian Water customers…
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Two in five people receiving Universal Credit were forced into debt this winter as payments failed to cover soaring cost of living according to new research by the Trussell Trust. Trussell Trust says new research has revealed the true and devastating consequences of the current cost of living crisis, with hundreds of thousands of families…
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Latest figures from the Insolvency Service have indicated that personal insolvencies in England & Wales increased by 15.8% to 9,825 in February 2022 compared to 8,486 in January, and were 43.7% higher than February 2021’s figure of 6,839. They were also 14.4% higher than in February 2020 (8,590). There were 2,242 DROs and 588 bankruptcies. The…
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