Credit card firms asked to review approach to persistent debt customers

3rd February 2020 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has written to credit card firms telling them to review their approach to borrowers who are stuck in persistent debt, where they are paying more in interest, fees and charges than they are paying of their balance. New FCA  rules require firms to help people who have been caught in…

Read more

Personal insolvencies amongst women aged over 65 increase by 88%

3rd February 2020 Consumer Collections |

The number of insolvencies amongst women aged 65 and over increased from 1,109 in 2008 to 2,082 in 2018 – an increase of 88% in a decade, according to new analysis from Rest Less, a jobs, volunteering and advice site for the over 50s. The insolvency rate of this group increased from 0.02% to 0.04%…

Read more

Judgements against Irish consumers rise by 20%

31st January 2020 Consumer Collections |

There was a 20 percent rise in the number of judgments recorded against consumers in the Republic of Ireland in Q4 2019, compared to the same period last year, figures released by registrar Irish Judgments show. Consumer judgment numbers rose from 516 in Q4 2018 to 618 Q4 2019, while the total value grew by…

Read more

Household debt closely parallels Government’s debt

31st January 2020 Consumer Collections |

In the year up to November 2019, UK households borrowed almost as much as the Government, demonstrating that debt remains both a private and public sector issue, according to the January 2020 Money Statistics, produced by The Money Charity. The latest data available from the Bank of England and ONS shows that UK households borrowed almost…

Read more

Money Statistics: January 2020

31st January 2020 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for January 2020 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,669 billion at the end of November 2019. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £59,982 and per adult was £31,643, around 111.6% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose…

Read more

Business and consumer judgements rise in Northern Ireland

31st January 2020 Personal Insolvency |

Judgments taken out against consumers in Northern Ireland rose 16 percent in Q4 2019 compared to the same period in 2018, according to figures released today (27th January 2020) by Registry Trust. 1,732 judgments were taken out against consumers compared to 1,494 in Q4 2018. The average value rose by 7 percent pushing up the…

Read more

Personal Insolvencies hit nine year high

30th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

The Insolvency Service has released its annual figures on personal insolvencies which show that in 2019, there were 122,181 personal insolvencies, an increase of 6% on 2018, and the highest annual total since 2010. This was mainly due to an increase in Individual Voluntary Arrangements which reached their highest year on record. Personal insolvencies fell…

Read more

Credit cards debt and personal loan figures increase

30th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

Credit card spending rose by 7.3% and personal borrowing through loans jumped by 14% in December, trade body UK finance has revealed in its latest Household Finance Update. Figures from the trade body of the UK banking and finance industry have revealed that the credit card spending of £11.8 billion in December 2019 was 7.3%…

Read more

StepChange appoints new Head of Strategic Relationships

29th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

StepChange Debt Charity has appointed Vanessa Northam as its new Head of Strategic Relationships. Northam joins from Tully (part of the Openwrks Group) where she was previously Head of External Affairs. She will join the charity on 3rd February, reporting to Vikki Brownridge, Director of Charity Development. Northam and her team will be responsible for…

Read more

Consumer finance new business increased by 2% in November 2019

29th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in November 2019 by 2% compared with the same month in 2018, and held steady in the eleven months to November 2019. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew in November 2019 by 2% compared with…

Read more

Second charge mortgage new business increase 14% in November 2019

28th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that second charge mortgage new business volumes increased by 14% in November 2019 Commenting on the November 2019 new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Head of Consumer and Mortgage Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said “The…

Read more

Money & Pensions Service appoints new CEO

28th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has announced the appointment of Caroline Siarkiewicz as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Siarkiewicz has been acting CEO since June 2019, during which time the organisation has developed and published its UK Strategy for Financial Wellbeing. Siarkiewicz takes up the helm of MaPS at an exciting time for the organisation…

Read more

Consumer County Court Judgements orders hit record 1.15m in 2019

28th January 2020 Consumer Collections |

A record number of County Court Judgments (CCJs) were issued last year against consumers who fell into debt, double the level of eight years ago according to new figures released by the Registry Trust. The number CCJs issued against consumers in England and Wales increased slightly in Q4 2019 compared to the same period last…

Read more