One in three households will struggle to afford Christmas

28th November 2023 Arrears and Recoveries | #featured main

New YouGov polling commissioned by StepChange Debt Charity, which explores people’s finances and borrowing habits, reveals that one in four people will struggle to afford Christmas this year, rising to more than one in three (34%) households with children. The survey also found that. one in twelve (8%), around 4 million people, will be relying…

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Shell Energy fined £1.4m for failing to flag end of broadband contracts

21st November 2023 Consumer Collections |

Ofcom has fined Shell Energy £1.4 million for not properly prompting more than 70,000 phone and broadband customers to review their contract, or letting them know what they could save by signing up to a new deal. Ofcom’s investigation found that the company broke important consumer protection rules designed to ensure that customers get a fair…

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Personal insolvencies rise by 35%

Latest monthly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvency numbers increased by 35.7% in October 2023 to a total of 9,881 compared to September’s total of 7,280, and decreased by 6.1% compared to October 2022’s figure of 10,528. Personal insolvencies increased by 2.1% from October 2021’s total of…

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Financial stress in workforce costs businesses £10.3bn every year

A new report by the Centre for Economics and Business (CEBR) on behalf of Aegon has found that the proportion of both full-time and part-time private sector workers missing work due to financial concerns has risen to 12%, – up from 10% in 2021. On average, employees lost 4.7 workdays per year, leading to over…

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One third of parents feeling financial pressure

New research from Standard Life has found that almost one third of parents (30%) with children under 18 are finding their financial situation difficult, which compares to 22% of people without children. This comes during a second full year of high inflation, with the cost of essentials like food and household bills still outpacing income…

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Surge in women seeking debt advice who do not have enough to live on

9th November 2023 Arrears and Recoveries |

New research conducted by StepChange Debt Charity has revealed that its clients who are women face an average budget shortfall of £30 per month, which is £70 less than men’s average monthly surplus of £40. The charity’s new report, Bearing the burden, which has been published during Talk Money Week, looks at how debt differs between…

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Women are bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis

8th November 2023 Arrears and Recoveries |

New research by StepChange Debt Charity has revealed women are more likely to have energy debt, pay more on household essentials and have been disproportionately impacted by the cost of living crisis. The charity’s new report Bearing the burden, looks at how the gendered picture of debt differs, exploring why women are more vulnerable to…

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More than eight in ten insolvency experts expect rise in personal insolvencies

More than eight in ten (85%) personal insolvency experts expect to see a rise in personal insolvency numbers in 2024, according to new research from R3, the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body. When asked about the scale of the increase, 58% of respondents expect personal insolvency levels to rise moderately in 2024 compared to…

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Retirement on the back burner as people struggle with cost of living

6th November 2023 Arrears and Recoveries | #retirement

Almost half of people approaching retirement (49%) are rethinking their plans as the high cost of living bites into their everyday finances. Research carried out by LiveMore among people aged 50-79 found that 26% have been forced to postpone their retirement while 23% are seriously considering delaying it. In addition, 7% have taken on more…

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One in three have missed vital bill payments this year 

More than 16 million people have missed payments on key household bills this year and over two million did so for the first time, according to new research for Talk Money Week 2023.  A survey of 3,016 UK adults, commissioned by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), shows that a third of people (30%) have…

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One in two people paying interest on £31bn of credit card debt every month

New research by TotallyMoney has found that one in two people are paying banks interest on a total of £31 billion of credit card debt every month with the average outstanding monthly balance they’re paying interest on is £2,748. Each year, on the average balance, those with a poor credit score could be paying £1,371…

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Personal insolvencies fall by 6%

Latest quarterly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvency numbers fell 6%. There were 24,418 individual insolvencies registered in Q3 2023, 6% lower than the number of individual insolvencies registered in the previous quarter, and 15% lower than during the same quarter in the previous year. The number…

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Scottish insolvencies business insolvencies increase whilst personal insolvencies remain static

Latest quarterly statistics from Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) indicated that Scottish business insolvencies increased by 7%. In Quarter 3 (Q3), there were 296 total company insolvencies in Scotland, 7% higher than in the same quarter of 2022. The business insolvencies comprised 107 compulsory liquidations, 174 CVLs and 15 administrations. There were no CVAs or receivership…

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