Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Over two-thirds (70%) of consumers think the use of bots programmed to respond like agents is acceptable in customer service, according to a new report titled ‘Customer engagement – the road to 2020’, commissioned by West’s Unified Communications Services. This shows that consumers are happy to move to digital from voice if it is convenient,…
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1st Stop Group announces its loan book has passed the £150 million mark on its second anniversary since equity investment from Pollen Street Capital. 1st Stop Group said it has seen growth across its secured lending, car finance and personal loan products, lending £100m in the last twelve months. This growth has been driven by…
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Visa has announced that it has resolved the technical payment issues experienced by customers last week. In a statement, the company said Our network is working normally. If you attempted a Visa transaction that did not complete as a result of this issue, you should not be charged. A small number of cardholders may have…
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Following the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announcement on reform rent to own and overdraft reforms, industry figures have reacted on the news. Eric Leenders, Managing Director, Personal Finance at UK Finance said “People up and down the country use credit as a helpful means of managing their everyday spending, so we have been working closely…
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StepChange Debt Charity has announced that Sir Hector Sants will leave to become the first Chair of the new Single Financial Guidance Body. Sants will be stepping down from his role as Chair of the charity on 2nd October to take up the role on 3rd October 2018. Phil Andrew, Chief Executive of StepChange Debt…
Read moreIdentity security specialist Vasco Data Security has announced it has acquired privately-held Dealflo for £41 million in cash. In a separate press release, Vasco announced its name is changing to OneSpan. Dealflo is a provider of identity verification and end-to-end financial agreement automation solutions. Its workflow management system automates the full lifecycle of customer onboarding by…
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Financial service technology provider intelligent Environments has announced that after a comprehensive brand review, the company will now become ieDigital. Founded in 1985, Intelligent Environments has secure consumer-facing digital financial platforms for, among many others, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Argos. The new name and refreshed brand identity reflect the natural evolution of the company’s…
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Ofgem has launched an investigation into the way that Utility Warehouse manages its customers who are in debt. Ofgem will investigate whether the supplier has breached rules related to the way it manages these customers, particularly whether it puts in place appropriate repayment options for its indebted customers. This includes whether it does enough to…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced new proposals designed to protect millions of people who use overdrafts and high-cost credit. The changes the FCA are consulting on follow an in-depth review into the high-cost credit market and are expected to reduce the costs for consumers and give them greater control over their finances. These…
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SSE’s has announced that it will increase its energy prices by 6.7%. The price rise will affect 2.36m customers. Commenting on the news Gillian Guy, Chief Executive at Citizens Advice, said “It’s extremely disheartening to see SSE join the rest of the ‘big six’ energy suppliers in raising prices for its standard variable customers. Today’s price…
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Greece’s largest lender Piraeus Bank has announced that it has agreed to sell a 1.45 billion euro portfolio of secured, non-performing business loans to Bain Capital Credit as part of moves to reduce its bad debts. Greek banks have been under regulatory pressure to tackle their bad debt problem, which restricts their ability to expand…
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Latest figures from the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) show that complaints about borrowing – ranging from store cards to payday loans – have risen by 40% in the past year. Concerns have been raised about lenders’ treatment of customers with high-cost loans. Excluding complaints about payment protection insurance, almost one in four complaints to the ombudsman…
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Computershare Loan Services has announced that it will continue to administer 45,000 Bradford & Bingley mortgages transferring from UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) to an investor group led by Barclays Bank. UKAR recently announced the sale of two portfolios of buy-to-let and residential owner-occupied mortgages to the investment group. Computershare Loan Services was appointed by UKAR…
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