Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
More Scots have accessed statutory personal debt solutions, with numbers increasing from the recent low levels in 2015-16. In the three months between 1 April and 30 June 2017, total personal insolvencies, which include awards of bankruptcy and protected trust deeds, increased by 17.3% from 2,420 in the same quarter a year ago to 2,839.…
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An interest rate rise of just 0.5% would cost households an extra £3.4 billion in interest payments in just the first year according to analysis by Moore Stephens. Bank of England data shows UK households are currently paying £39.2 billion in interest payments on debt that is likely to be affected immediately by an interest rate…
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It has been announced that Peter Wyman CBE is to lead an independent review of the funding of debt advice across the UK. The review will seek views from a wide range of interested parties including the debt advice sector itself and recommend an appropriate funding framework for the future. The review has been established…
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Consumers will have greater control over their bank data and financial decisions thanks to new laws coming into force in January. The government is bringing in a new regulatory regime for innovative FinTech firms which will transform the way people engage with their finances and make it possible to manage all of their finances at the…
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There is a market failure in the provision of credit for financially vulnerable people who have to borrow to meet their essential costs, according to a major new report – ‘The high cost of credit’ – by StepChange Debt Charity. Over one million people in the UK are using high-cost credit to cover their everyday…
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New proposals to ensure that debt advice commissioned by the Money Advice Service targets those most in need across the UK have been published for consultation. These are designed to deliver comprehensive, high-quality services that will both tackle debt and improve people’s well-being. A strategic approach to debt advice commissioning sets out a new vision…
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The government’s latest insolvency statistics show that women continue to be more likely than men to enter an insolvency procedure and that insolvencies are most common in coastal towns, the North East and towns with declining industries, says insolvency and restructuring trade body R3. The 2016 statistics, published this morning, show that 53.4% of insolvencies…
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The Insolvency Service is clamping down on individuals who are disposing of their assets irresponsibly when facing financial stress, rather than paying back their debts, says accountancy firm, Moore Stephens. Moore Stephens says that there has been a 24% rise in the number of Bankruptcy Restriction Orders (BROs) issued to penalise the ‘dissipation of assets’…
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Helping people to build a £1,000 rainy day savings fund via the pensions automatic enrolment framework would prevent debt problems, would have a minimal impact on retirement incomes and would be better financially for people than if they stopped paying into their pensions to cover emergency costs, this is according to new analysis conducted by…
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Working families with children are facing bigger shortfalls in their household budgets this year, despite an increase in the National Living Wage and tax cuts, according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s authoritative annual report on living standards. A return to inflation combined with a freeze in working benefits has caused the shortfall to increase for…
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The rollout of Universal Credit should be paused until significant problems with it are fixed, says Citizens Advice. In a major new report – Delivering on Universal Credit – the charity reveals that the requirement to wait for six weeks to receive any payment means people face serious financial insecurity, with many being forced into…
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A new toolkit to bring consistency to the way creditors work with debt advice agencies when collecting repayments from people who are in debt has been launched by the Money Advice Service today. This is the first time that all major debt advice agencies and creditors have worked together to raise standards of creditor practice…
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The creation of a Single Financial Guidance Body could help break down barriers stopping indebted individuals from receiving free and impartial advice, says insolvency trade body R3 ahead of a key parliamentary debate on the issue. On Wednesday (5th July), the House of Lords will debate the Government’s Financial Guidance and Claims Bill, which could…
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