Call for reform as council tax arrears rise to £4.4bn

24th June 2021 Consumer Collections |

New figures from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have shown that council tax arrears in England have risen to £4.4 billion. The figures show that In 2020-21 local authorities collected a total of £32.2 billion in council tax. This was an increase of £0.6 billion, or 1.9%, over 2019-20. This is lower…

Read more

Richest more likely to fall ‘into the red’

23rd June 2021 Consumer Collections |

New research by Opinium for Hargreaves Lansdown suggests that the richer you are, the more likely you are to fall debt ( ‘into the red’) The research also found that higher rate and additional rate taxpayers are more likely to be in the red for at least half the month (14% compared to 9% among…

Read more

One in six expect to be paying their mortgage at 65

21st June 2021 Consumer Collections |

Almost one in six people expect to be over the age of 65 by the time they repay their mortgage (15%) according to research by Opinium. The research shows that among those who were aged 55 and over and still had a mortgage, one in five expected to repay over the age of 70 (19%),…

Read more

Number of pensioners living in poverty tops two million

18th June 2021 Consumer Collections |

The number of pensioners in poverty has now passed the two million mark, with Black and Asian older people most at risk of struggling financially in later life, according to analysis by charity, Age UK. The charity is working with the DWP to encourage pensioners on low incomes to see if they can receive a…

Read more

Personal Insolvency numbers decrease

16th June 2021 Consumer Collections |

Latest figures from the Insolvency Service have indicated that personal insolvency numbers across England & Wales fell by 14% in May 2021. Personal insolvencies numbers fell to 8,482 when compared to April’s figure of 9,864, and were 38.7% lower than May 2020’s figure of 13,838. The figures show that there were 1,525 DROs and 718 bankruptcies.…

Read more

Consumers three times as likely to pay bills by credit card than ask for help

10th June 2021 Consumer Collections |

Research commissioned by Ofwat has indicated that consumers are more than three times as likely to pay bills by credit card than ask for help. The research also shows that a third of customers are struggling to pay household bills and this proportion rises to more than half of customers (51%) when looking at those…

Read more

Low paid workers’ at most risk of losing jobs when furlough ends

8th June 2021 Consumer Collections |

Low-paid workers are expected to face the highest risk of losing their jobs when the government’s furlough scheme ends in September, according to analysis by the Resolution Foundation. While the government’s coronavirus job retention scheme is widely believed to have prevented millions of job losses, economists are concerned that some jobs will still not be…

Read more

Consumer finance new business grew by 147% in April

8th June 2021 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew by 147% in April 2021 compared with the same month in 2020.  In the first four months of 2021, new business was 1% higher than in the same period in 2020. The retail store and online credit sector…

Read more

Second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 176% in April

7th June 2021 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 176% in April 2021 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…

Read more

2.5m consumers fall behind on their broadband bills

7th June 2021 Consumer Collections |

2.5 million consumers are behind on their broadband bills, with 700,000 of these falling into the red during the pandemic according to new research by Citizens Advice. The new research from the charity has also found some groups are particularly struggling. Young people and those with children under 18 are three times more likely to…

Read more

Credit Connect to host Responsible Communications webinar

3rd June 2021 Consumer Collections |

Credit Connect Media will host the latest edition of its Connected News digital free live webinar series on Wednesday 14th July. The webinar titled “Delivering responsible vulnerable communications” will be the latest in the series of webinars looking at the latest thematic innovations enhancing collections strategy. Speakers from Lowell and the Lending Standards Board will…

Read more

Households repay £377m in consumer credit

3rd June 2021 Consumer Collections |

Latest Bank of England (BoE) figures show that consumers continued making net repayments of consumer credit in April 2021. The figures show that households collectively made a £377 million net repayment in consumer credit, the repayment figures included credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts. Analysis shows that while people have been making significant net consumer…

Read more

Half of consumers wish they had sought advice sooner

3rd June 2021 Consumer Collections |

More than half (51%) of people who sought debt advice from a Citizens Advice Bureau wish they had done so sooner according to new data published by Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS). CAS is publishing the data as it launches its ‘Money Advice Matters’ campaign, encouraging people to not delay and seek advice about financial worries,…

Read more