Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Government is urging households across England to set up direct debits with their local council to receive a £150 council tax rebate that will help millions of families manage costs of living. People who pay council tax by direct debit, which is a safe, simple and quick way to pay will see the cash…
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Virgin Money has announced a partnership with Paylink Solutions which will be enhanced the way customers who have fallen into arrears provide their income and expenditure (I&E) information as part of a new digital affordability platform. The customised software partnership brings Virgin Money’s operations together as part of a consistent affordability system for agents and…
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Personal insolvency provider Creditfix has announced changes to how it works with third-party debt packager firms. The move, which will see the company introduce a flat rate to external providers, comes in a proactive response to industry calls for tighter regulation around external sources and to further ensure that customers seeking debt advice get the…
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European investor and alternative asset manager in credit and real estate Arrow Global has announced the appointment of Fiona O’Sullivan, Head of Internal Audit, and Martin Dowdall, Chief Operating Officer, to Dublin-headquartered Mars Capital Finance. Joining Mars Capital’s Irish senior leadership team, O’Sullivan brings over 10 years’ experience as a Chartered Accountant across Practice, External…
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Adolescents aged 17-19 years old with previous mental health issues were 100% more likely to have suffered further mental distress as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown, according to new research by the University of Roehampton. The study, conducted during the UK’s first national lockdown in response to Covid-19, comprised nearly 1,000 adolescents from the…
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Generation Z are far more likely to be living on the edge with only 14% having enough spare cash to be resilient to rising prices compared to 52% of Millennials, 60% of Baby Boomers and 64% of Generation X according to research by HL Savings and Resilience Barometer, produced with Oxford Economics. The research also…
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Ofgem has appointed Yü Energy Retail to take on supplying customers from Whoop Energy and Xcel Power. This follows a competitive process run by Ofgem to get the best deal possible for customers. Funds that current and former domestic customers of the suppliers have paid into their accounts will be protected, where they are in…
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Ofgem has confirmed that two small energy retailers have become the latest suppliers to exit the market. Whoop Energy and Xcel Power have announced they are ceasing to trade. Whoop Energy supplies 262 unique customer accounts, gas and electricity, 50 domestic and 212 non-domestic. Xcel Power has 274 unique customer accounts, gas only, and all…
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The extension of cost-of-living costs is impacting three-quarters of households new ONS fortnightly data has revealed. In the first half of February, 76% of people said their cost of living had risen in the previous month, up from 69% in the second half of January. The most common price rise they mentioned was the increasing…
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Sigma Connected, a provides customer contact services for the finance, utilities, telecommunications and retail sectors, has announced that it is celebrating a 10-year partnership with credit card and personal finance specialist Vanquis, part of the Provident Financial Group, by taking on a new and additional contract to provide customer services to oversee the firm’s credit…
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Latest figures from the Insolvency Service have indicated that personal insolvencies in England & Wales increased by 0.3% to 8,477 in January 2022 compared to 8,451 in December 2021, and were 1.8% higher than January 2021’s figure of 8,331. There were 1,873 DROs and 575 bankruptcies. The number of DROs in January 2022 was 59%…
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Latest statistics from the Insolvency Service have indicated that Northern Irish business and personal insolvency figures increased the latest quarterly figures. In January 2022, there were 18 business insolvencies registered in Northern Ireland, six times as many as in January 2021, but 31% lower than January 2020. The insolvencies comprised of two compulsory liquidations, 12…
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Inflation in the UK increased to the highest rate for three decades in January as the impact of rising energy bills fed into a wide range of goods and services, adding to the squeeze on household living standards according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the consumer price index measure of inflation increased…
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