Energy bills will cost two months’ wages next year

New analysis published by the TUC has shown that energy bills are now expected to cost more than two months of average take-home pay in 2023 – without government intervention. Average take-home pay (after tax) will be £2,054 per month in 2023 based on Bank of England forecasts, so at £4,108, two months’ pay will…

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Financial worries worse during cost-of-living crisis than the pandemic

New Aegon research tracking adults’ relationship with their finances since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic has found that financial worries are already significantly worse since the beginning of the cost-of-living crisis than experienced during the pandemic. The latest research* shows nearly two thirds of adults (63%) said they are worried about their finances during…

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Repossessions by county court bailiffs increase 1,611%

Latest figures from the Ministry of Justice have shown that mortgage and landlord possession statistics (April to June 2022) have indicated that repossessions by county court bailiffs increased from 45 to 770 (1,611%). Mortgage claims, orders, warrants and repossessions have also increased significantly when compared to the same quarter in 2021. Compared to the same…

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Mortgage arrears customer figures continue to fall

The total number of customers in arrears with their mortgages continued to fall in the second quarter of 2022 according to latest UK Finance data. In absolute terms there were 530 more possessions in Q2 2022 compared with the same period last year, however the total for this quarter is approximately half the number seen…

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Over half of adults looking at ways to increase their income

11th August 2022 Consumer Collections |

As the cost of living crisis continues to squeeze the personal finances of many, research from Canada Life reveals over half (55%) of adults, equating to 28.9 million people, have implemented, or are looking at ways to boost their income. The top ways adults plan to increase their current income include selling unwanted belongings (36%), looking…

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Energy price cap forecasted to rise to £4,266 in January

10th August 2022 Consumer Collections | #energy

Energy bills for a typical household could hit £4,266 next year, according to new predictions by Cornwall Insight. The higher estimate means the average household would be paying £355 a month, instead of £164 a month currently. Cornwall Insights says that the increase in forecasts since last month reflects both the increase in the wholesale…

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Household energy bills hit £1.3bn all-time high

Ahead of the autumn bill hikes, household energy debt is already standing at an all-time high of £1.3 billion – nearly three times higher than it was in September last year according to new research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service. Six million homes – almost a quarter of households (23%) – owe an average of…

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People turn to cash as prices rise

New research by the Post Office indicates that people are turning back to cash to help them keep tighter control on their spending as living costs soar. Latest figures show that Post Offices handled £801 million in personal cash withdrawals in July, the most since records began five years ago, an increase of almost 8%…

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Two-fifths of children in key worker households are living below the breadline

8th August 2022 Arrears and Recoveries | #debt

Around 1 million children with key worker parents are living below the breadline, new research by the TUC has found. In some parts of the UK, more than two-fifths of children in key worker households are living below the breadline with one in five (19%) key worker households having children living in poverty. The research,…

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Nearly six million households struggling to afford telecoms and broadband bills

Nearly six million households are struggling to afford essential telecoms services according to a new analysis by Which?, as it calls on the government to cut the amount of VAT paid on mobile, broadband and telephone services. The consumer champion found that millions of households reported issues affording essential telecoms services such as mobile phone…

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C&R Software and Elanev agree customer score partnership

8th August 2022 Company News |

End-to-end collections and recovery specialist C&R Software has announced a partnership with Elanev to provide propensity scores. Elanev scores are UK and US-wide. Uniquely they apply to all customers, new and current, credit active and inactive and are updated daily. They include propensities for contact, payment, and financial vulnerability/resilience as well as the best time…

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Second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 24% in June 2022

5th August 2022 Arrears and Recoveries | #mortgage

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) have indicated that second-charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 24% in June 2022. 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…

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Ofgem announces quarterly price cap change

5th August 2022 Consumer Collections | #energy cap

Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap review will be updated every three months instead of six. The energy regulator says that the change will go some way to provide the stability needed in the energy market, reducing the risk of further large-scale supplier failures which cause huge disruption and push up costs for…

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