Scottish personal insolvencies show 5% increase

25th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

Accountant in Bankruptcy’s (AiB) has published its latest scottish personal insolvency provisional figures for the financial year 2018-19  which show there were 4,862 awards of bankruptcy compared to 4,644 during 2017-18.  The number of personal insolvencies (bankruptcies and protected trust deeds) in Scotland rose by 29% in January-March 2019 compared with the same quarter the…

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Intrum completes Spanish acquisition

25th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

European debt purchase specialist Intrum has announced that it has completed the finalisation of regulatory approvals to finalise the acquisition of Solvia Servicios Inmobiliarios (Solvia) from Banco Sabadell following the initial announcement in December 2018. The agreement means that Intrum will acquire an 80 per cent share in Solvia, whilst Banco Sabadell, one of the…

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FLA launches new training partnership with LIBF

25th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Finance & Leasing Association’s (FLA) Specialist Automotive Finance (SAF) programme has been relaunched in partnership with The London Institute of Banking & Finance (LIBF), with an improved range of training options for dealership staff that will further increase the professionalism, skills and knowledge in this sector. From today, those who successfully pass their yearly…

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Consumers facing ‘interest-only mortgage crisis’

24th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

Over 250,000 homeowners are expected to struggle to refinance their properties over the next five years, according to research conducted by Kensington Mortgages. The data shows that 15 per cent of borrowers will have reached the end of their repayment date by 2024 and will be unable to find a new deal, which Kensington says…

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Borrowers risk damaging credit score with avoidable errors

24th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

Consumers are making significant financial errors which could be damaging their credit rating according to new research from comparethemarket.com, the majority of people (55%) don’t know what their credit rating is and 43% would have no idea how to improve it. The research suggests that the UK has many blind spots when it comes to…

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7.5 million consumers fall victim to seller fraud

24th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

Nearly half (47%) of people who have sold an item or service online have fallen victim to fraud according to new Fraud Tracker data from Shieldpay. This totals some 7.5 million1 people and the financial impact is not to be underestimated; the average amount lost to fraudsters is £2,054, with 10% of sellers defrauded by…

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Seven fintechs partner with Nationwide to address financial capability issues

24th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

Nationwide Building Society has selected seven fintech companies to take part in its Open Banking for Good challenge. The fintech firms will develop Open Banking based apps and services to help financially vulnerable people. The seven companies have been chosen from more than 50 applicants. Those selected into each of the three categories are: Income…

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Leek United appoints new FD

24th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

Leek United Building Society has appointed Rob Broadbent as its new Finance Director (FD). Broadbent has over 15 years’ experience in financial services, including positions at board and executive level. His most recent role was Chief Risk Officer at Wesleyan Bank, an organisation which he originally joined as Head of Finance in 2013. Prior to…

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Collections industry calls for transparency on debt advice funding

23rd April 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Credit Services Association (CSA), has responded to the ongoing debate around future funding of the debt advice sector which will see some £172 million of funding provided to providers in 2019. The CSA says that it is right that Financial Services firms should be a significant contributor to debt advice funding, but they should…

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FCA publishes Duty of Care feedback response

23rd April 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a Feedback Statement summarising the responses received to its Discussion Paper – ‘A duty of care and potential alternative approaches’ – published in July 2018, and setting out next steps. As a result of the feedback the FCA received and its early analysis, it has identified options for…

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Consumers without a bank account face ‘poverty premium’

23rd April 2019 Consumer Collections |

Over one million consumers who do not have a bank account pay on average £485 for household services according to new research by Pockit. The digital current account provider found that around 1.23 million ‘unbanked’ individuals are missing out on preferential deals and discounts on utility bills, mobile phone contracts, broadband and personal loans. The…

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FEATURE: Can artificial intelligence help improve collections?

22nd April 2019 Technology and Open Banking |

Advanced Collection Systems’ (ACS) collaboration with the University of Hertfordshire is trialling the use of artificial intelligence (AI) based virtual agent that can take on a real-time customer facing role in debt recovery and autonomously negotiate debt repayment. The trial has led to the design of an ‘Adaptive Virtual Agent (AVA)’ through the KTP, four…

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FCA data shows 5% drop in complaints in second half of 2018

18th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the latest complaints figures for regulated firms for the second half of 2018. During the second half of 2018 (2018 H2), complaints decreased by 5%, falling from 4.13m to 3.91m. This is the first time the number of complaints has fallen since firms were required to change the…

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