Half of consumers have improved financial planning during pandemic

9th February 2021 Consumer Collections |

Research for Indesser, a joint venture between the Cabinet Office and TDX Group, has shown that over half of consumers (53%) have improved their financial tracking and budgeting during Covid-19. The pandemic has changed some people’s financial behaviour for the better, with 43% of respondents paying off more debt than before, and over a third…

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Single parents more likely to experience debt and live in persistent poverty

8th February 2021 Consumer Collections |

Gingerbread, the charity for single-parent families, and StepChange, debt charity, have published a new report which shows the UK’s 2 million single parents are more likely than any other sector of society to be living with problem debt. The report shows that 82% of single parents said not having enough income to meet living costs…

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Consumer CCJs fell by 45% in 2020

5th February 2021 Consumer Collections |

The number of County Court Judgments (CCJs) issued against consumers in England and Wales in 2020 fell by 45 percent compared to 2019, from 1,146,475 to 626,775, according to figures released by Registry Trust. The total value of CCJs registered in 2020 fell by 34 percent to £1.1 billion, down from £1.7 billion in 2019.…

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Northern Irish consumer debt judgments fall by 52% in 2020

5th February 2021 Consumer Collections |

The number of debt judgments registered against Northern Ireland consumers in 2020 was 3,207, a fall of 52 percent compared to the 6,649 registered in 2019, according to figures released by Registry Trust. The total value of consumer judgment debt owed in 2020 also fell by just over half (54%) compared to last year, from…

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Energy costs to rise for millions of households

5th February 2021 Consumer Collections |

Energy regulator, Ofgem has announced that from 1st April 2021 the price cap will rise and return to pre-pandemic levels, principally as a result of changes in wholesale energy prices. The regulator said the price cap for default domestic energy deals would be raised to cover suppliers’ extra costs. Wholesale prices fell sharply last year in the wake of the first…

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Government urged to bring forward Debt Management Bill

5th February 2021 Consumer Collections |

The Money Advice Trust has urged the government to prioritise reforms to the way it collects debts following the Cabinet Office’s publication of responses to its call for evidence on fairness in government debt collection. The publication highlights evidence submitted to the government on the widespread issues with the current approaches to debt collection in…

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Water bills to fall as low-income households access payment support

4th February 2021 Consumer Collections |

Household water bills are set to drop by an average of £2 from April, which after inflation will be the same rate as a decade ago. Bills and reductions vary between companies, but most households will save at a time when more customers across England and Wales are accessing payment support schemes than ever before.…

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Intrum achieves seventh consecutive top customer service rating

4th February 2021 Consumer Collections |

Credit management firm Intrum has achieved gold rating in an independent customer experience assessment for the seventh consecutive year by Investor in Customers (IIC). IIC has again given the business its highest gold standard for delivering ‘exceptional’ customer service, making Intrum the only business ever to achieve gold on first IIC assessment and maintain that…

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21 million considering a loan this year

3rd February 2021 Consumer Collections |

A poll from AA Financial Services suggests 21 million are considering taking out a loan this year. The survey saw 44% of respondents say they are planning to borrow money once the coronavirus lockdown ends, with new cars, family holidays and home improvements the most common reasons cited for borrowing money The research, conducted among…

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Two-fifths concerned of ability to repay buy now pay later schemes

3rd February 2021 Consumer Collections |

Over two-fifths (44%) of UK adults who used a Buy Now Pay Later scheme (BNPL) to fund their Christmas shopping are now concerned about their ability to repay, according to the latest findings by comparethemarket.com. Worryingly, one-fifth (20%) are unable to meet these repayments without having to take on more debt, reflecting the concern that these…

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Credit card and car finance debt fell by £16.6bn last year

2nd February 2021 Consumer Collections |

Latest figures from the Bank of England (BOE) have shown that lending fell by £16.6 billion over the past year. The figures also reveal that deposits in bank and building society accounts rose by almost £ 21 billion in December, whereas pre-pandemic they typically increased by about £5 billion a month. Separately the figures showed…

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Lowest paid most likely to have increased debt in pandemic

2nd February 2021 Consumer Collections |

New polling, published by the TUC, has found that low earners are more likely than middle and higher earners to have been forced to cut spending and take on debt during the pandemic. The poll findings (conducted for the TUC by BritainThinks) come as the TUC publishes its budget submission, which calls on the Chancellor…

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Buy-Now-Pay-Later sector faces tighter controls – industry reaction

2nd February 2021 Consumer Collections |

The Government has announced that it will legislate to bring currently unregulated, interest-free Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) into Financial Conduct Authority regulation in order to protect consumers under new plans announced by the government. The Government says that buy-now-pay-later products are rapidly increasing in popularity, with the volume of transactions tripling in 2020 as the pandemic drove…

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