Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Since the cost-of-living crisis began, only one in five consumers (21%) ‘still always book’ all-inclusive holidays, according to new research from Compare the Market. Over a third (38%) of holiday makers have changed their behaviour when it comes to booking all-inclusive holidays due to the rising cost of living, as 21% ‘sometimes book them…
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A new poll from Savanta, commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, has found that one in two mortgage borrowers fear losing their homes as a result of interest rates growth. The poll found that 46% of mortgage borrowers worried about losing their home with six in ten mortgage borrowers worried about cutting down on food bills…
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Between January 2020 and March 2023, the proportion of clients accessing debt advice who have a car finance debt has risen by 14.8%. In the same period, the average balance of a client’s car finance debt has increased by more than 20%, from £8,077 to £9,705. The charity’s research also found that clients with car finance debt tend to…
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Inflation ignorance and rate confusion is ruining financial resilience according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) and Opinium. The research found that those who understand inflation are more likely to be financially resilient than those who say they don’t. Those who say they understand inflation, but prove to be wrong, have even lower financial resilience.…
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A significant portion of the UK population remains financially stable despite rising interest rates and persistent inflation according to new research by TransUnion. The figures illustrate a contradictory picture of the financial landscape among consumers. On one hand, almost six in 10 (58%) have proactively taken steps to reduce their discretionary expenditures such as dining out,…
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The Money Advice Trust has published its latest Outcomes Report, which shows the scale and impact of the charity’s work helping people and small businesses in financial difficulty. Last year, through its National Debtline and Business Debtline, the Trust helped 140,980 individuals and small business owners to tackle their debts, with 1.87 million visits to…
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New IFS research, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), shows that 48% of 50- to 70-year-olds who had recently left the workforce in 2020–21 ended up in relative poverty. This was significantly higher than the percentage of individuals who were in poverty after leaving the workforce in pre-pandemic years – even though overall poverty…
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One in five (3.4 million) people aged 50-69 and one in twelve of over 70s (670,000) in the UK have had to borrow more money or use more credit than usual in the last month compared to a year ago, new research by Age UK has found. The analysis showed that 1.3 million over 50s have a…
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Stronger economic growth is fundamental to restarting rising living standards in the UK, but must be accompanied by reform to our economy and benefits system if the rewards are to be widely shared, according to new Resolution Foundation analysis. While some argue that growth isn’t desirable and doesn’t feed through to rising wages for normal…
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The number of households struggling with heavy debt has increased by two thirds since 2017, according to charity Debt Justice. The report shows that around 12.8 million adults in the UK are falling behind on bills or finding repayments a struggle. The Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives survey found that 7.7 million adults in the…
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Sector regulator Ofgem says a number of energy companies do not meet its financial resilience standards. While it did not specify which companies were falling short of its standards, it warned that around a third of the market is below the target. The energy regulator has written to energy companies warning them that an expected…
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New research by Hargreaves Lansdown has found that one in four spending more than they have earnt creating a risk of running up debts. The study also found that higher-income households are borrowing more as a percentage of their income – and have a bigger share of their borrowing on variable rates and are more…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has made rulebook changes in an effort to grant households relief from rising mortgage rates. Lenders will be able to offer borrowers a switch to interest-only payments for six months. They will also be able to offer an extension to mortgage terms to reduce monthly payments, with borrowers given the…
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