Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New data from Barclaycard has indicated that consumer spending contracted 26.7 per cent year-on-year in May. The data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, reveals that spending on essential items grew slightly by 0.9 per cent. This was bolstered by a 24.5 per cent rise in supermarket…
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The Covid-19 crisis has reduced financial wellbeing in the UK and consumers expect a further decline in the next six months, according to a European survey by credit management group Intrum. Despite this, some UK consumers have experienced a positive effect on their spending. The whitepaper outlines the financial impact of Covid-19 on private households…
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Debt charity StepChange has published a briefing revealing that a personal debt tsunami of £6 billion directly attributable to the pandemic is already being stored up among some 4.6 million households and, if left unchecked, is set to worsen. The charity warns that coronavirus-related debt will act as a drag on economic recovery and will…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that second charge mortgage new business volumes fall by 69% in April 2020 Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Head of Consumer and Mortgage Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said “The second…
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More than a third of furloughed private renters (37%) are worried about being able to pay their rent when the coronavirus lockdown ends, according to new research published today by the independent Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). This means around 250,000 people in this group could be in a position where they struggle to meet their…
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Families with children at home during the coronavirus lockdown are turning to payment holidays to help them through the crisis. According to comparethemarket.com’s Household Financial Confidence Tracker, fewer than one in ten (9%) households without children at home say they have taken a payment holiday, but this figure leaps to over a fifth (21%) among…
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Mortgage lending was flat in the first three months of 2020 compared with a year ago with an increase in buy-to-let activity offset by a drop in first-time buyers, according to UK Finance’s Household Finance Review for Q1 2020 . The report finds also highlighted that there was a modest pick-up in arrears towards the…
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Following the news that the Civil Enforcement Association (CIVEA) has announced plans to introduce a phased return of bailiff visits following the lifting of lockdown restrictions. StepChange is urging the Government to regulate the bailiff industry and to implement additional measures to support those hardest hit by the pandemic. The debt charity says that thousands…
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The Scottish Building Society has pledged a 12-month pause on repossessions as it looks to support customers amid the coronavirus pandemic. It is also extending a three-month mortgage break to six months. Scottish Building Society is also encouraging landlords to help those struggling to pay rent, by offering mortgage holidays if they pass on the…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has directed insurance firms to consider the impact of COVID-19 on the value of their products, saying they should evaluate services and detail any alterations within six months. The new measures set out what the FCA considers firms should be doing to identify any material issues that affect the value…
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Credit management specialist, Lowell has announced that it has made two new appointments to its Group Executive team. Thomas Lingen has joined as Group General Counsel and Bitte Ferngren joined as Group Chief People Officer. Lingen joins Lowell from Office Depot Europe in the Netherlands, bringing with him experience of leading legal functions for multinational…
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With millions of people facing debt problems because of the pandemic, the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute is urging the Government to save lives by putting an end to threatening debt letters. Money and Mental Health’s research shows that rules in the Consumer Credit Act (1974) compel lenders to send intimidating letters to people…
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Consumers repaid £7.4 billion debt in April, the largest net repayment since the series began according to the latest figures from the Bank of England’s monthly Money & Credit statistical release data. This is the largest net repayment since records began in 1993 and double that of March, which was the previous record. The figures…
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