Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
More than 18,000 new StepChange Debt Charity clients completed full debt advice in January 2023, which is at least 22% higher than any single month in 2022, suggesting that more and more people are struggling with debt in the new year following almost 12 months of rising living costs. Latest Bank of England data for January showed…
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People in deep financial trouble are being misled by profit-making firms into unsuitable debt solutions which are often leaving them worse off according to a new report from Citizens Advice. With the cost-of-living crisis pushing more people into debt, Citizens Advice has found worrying numbers of people in Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) unable to keep…
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Credit Connect’s hosted its sixth Online Collections Technology Think Tank 4.1 last week which saw collections strategies and the impact of cost of living economic stresses discussed by thirteen collections professionals from a variety of industry sectors. The themes of collections risk, customer engagement, affordability and the future of collections were discussed by panelists and…
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Specialist Conversational AI and digital engagement company, Webio has announced launched its Self-Service Studio, which it claims is the first debt collection self-service offering powered by AI-driven conversational messaging. The Self Service Studio has the ability to identify customers who have stalled or not completed their payment journey. With the Conversational AI chatbots on-hand, customers…
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New figures from the Insolvency Service show that there were nearly 88,000 IVA’s were registered in England and Wales in 2022, the highest annual number since records began in 1990. In England and Wales, one in 18 Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) (5.5%) registered with the Insolvency Service in 2021 terminated within one year of being approved.…
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New data from specialist lender Hodge shows a significant increase in the number of its 50+ customers taking out a mortgage for debt consolidation in January this year compared with January 2022. The data shows that in January 2023, 18% of customers said they were using the loan for debt consolidation, compared with just 2.13%…
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Manchester-based deceased account management business, Phillips & Cohen Associates (PCA) has announced that is to acquire Liverpool-based debt recovery and credit management services provider, Ardent Credit Services. PCA says that the move is part of a long-term strategy to expand expertise and scale within the pre and post charge-off collections space in the UK and…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap will be set at an annual level of £3,280 for a dual fuel household paying by direct debit based on typical consumption, a reduction of almost £1,000 from the current level, of £4,279 which reflects recent falls in wholesale energy prices. The cost of universal…
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The rising cost of living and weaker consumer spending is expected to deepen the economic divide between London and the rest of the UK, according to the latest EY UK Regional Economic Forecast. The forecast says that UK Gross Value Added (GVA) is expected to decline 0.6% over the course of 2023, with London (-0.2%)…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for February 2023 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,832.8 billion at the end of December 2022. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,946 and per adult was £34,653, around 105.7% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
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New data from Macmillan Cancer Support shows that tens of thousands of people going through or recovering from cancer treatment in the UK (16%) have had to sell personal possessions or borrow money just to make ends meet. The research also found that almost one in three (31%) are struggling to pay their basic living…
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Poorer households are hit harder than wealthy households when it comes to rising energy costs according to new research by Interactive Investor. When factored into the other key areas of household expenditure, including food, housing costs (rent or mortgage) and transport, the research calculated that the poorest 10% of households face spending 26% of their…
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More than 900,000 more households across England, Scotland and Wales will benefit from the government’s £400 help with energy bills, as an online application portal opens today (Monday 27th February 2023). Households without a direct relationship to an electricity supplier, such as those living in park homes and care homes, can now apply via a…
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