Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
More than two in five (43%) households cut their energy consumption to be able to afford their bills, according to new research bycomparethemarket.com. The survey of more than 4,000 people reveals that households were forced to ration their energy use this winter to cope with increased costs. The impact on households with younger people, who…
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The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was the fifth most common reason for debt according to StepChange’s Statistics Yearbook 2020, The report also reveals some noteworthy shifts in client trends and characteristics in 2020 compared with previous recent years. However, the debt charity says that what is equally striking is that all the debt pressures…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for March 2021 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,700.2 billion at the end of January 2021. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £60,999 and per adult was £32,087, around 107.6% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
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Squeezed savings, lower income from employment and less money available to spend kept UK household finances under pressure in the opening quarter of 2021 despite greater efforts to pay down debt, according to the Scottish Widows UK Household Finance Index (HFI). The headline seasonally adjusted index which measures households’ overall perceptions of financial wellbeing – registered 42.0 in Q1, up from 41.1…
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Consumers paid off £1.2 billion in credit card debt and overdrafts in the final month of full lockdown according to the latest Bank of England figures. The figures showed that net repayments on products such as credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts were at the strongest annual rate in 27 years. The repayment figures are…
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New research by Citizens Advice shows the charity is now helping one person every minute with problems relating to renting from a private landlord. In the first two months of this year, the charity saw a 40% increase in people seeking one-to-one advice on issues relating to the private rented sector compared to the same…
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One in five consumers in the UK (20 percent), equating to an estimated 10.2 million people, say they are worried their finances will not fully recover from the impact of Covid-19, according to new research from the Money Advice Trust. The research, based on a poll of more than 2,000 adults conducted online by YouGov,…
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Around 840,000 tenants who have fallen into arrears are in danger of losing their homes as a result of the pandemic, according to data from the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) The NRLA says with no action possible against them, these debts are increasing to the point where there is no hope of many being…
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As the deadline to apply for a payment deferral ends on 31st March 2021, the Financial Conduct Authority has reiterated its message to reassure consumers in financial difficulty that support will continue to be available under the Tailored Support Guidance (TSG). The FCA says payment deferrals allowed firms to deal with unprecedented demand for short-term…
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Nearly a third (31%) of credit cardholders have been unable to repay their balance in full each month since the pandemic began, which can lead to further interest and debt accruing due to high APR rates, according to new research from comparethemarket.com. Among 25-34-year-olds, this figure increases to more than two-fifths (41%). Millennials are the hardest…
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The divide between rich and poor is widening, as many consumers have grown their savings during the COVID-19 pandemic, while others are struggling to make ends meet according to new research by TransUnion. The research reveals the pandemic has given over a third (35%) of UK adults the chance to increase their savings and 16%…
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The Government and the Money Advice and Pension Service (MaPS) are being urged to promote early engagement between customers and creditors as the most effective route to resolving problem debt. In a letter sent by Chris Leslie, the Chief Executive of the Credit Services Association (CSA), to Guy Opperman at the Department for Work and…
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Credit Connect’s hosted its second Online Collections Technology Think Tank 2.0 last week which saw collections strategies and the impact of the pandemic discussed by fourteen collections professionals from a variety of industry sectors. The themes of business transformation, customer engagement, affordability, and open banking collections were discussed by panellists and Chair Vanessa Northam from StepChange.…
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