AiB report shows creditors paid over £80 million

19th September 2016 Consumer Collections |

Over £80 million has been repaid to creditors in the past year, according to the Annual Report and Accounts published by Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB). The Scottish Government Agency also recovered all of its costs through fees and income during the year, ensuring its work had no impact on the public purse during 2015-16. Despite…

Read more

‘Whole-society’ approach needed to tackle financial exclusion

16th September 2016 Consumer Collections |

The Money Advice Trust has called for a ‘whole-society’ approach to tackling financial exclusion with a stronger leadership role from Government, in evidence to the House of Lords Financial Exclusion Committee. The Committee, chaired by Baroness Tyler of Enfield, is examining financial exclusion and access to mainstream financial services. The charity has pointed to fundamental issues…

Read more

Ofgem proposes capping prepayment meter charges for indebted consumers

15th September 2016 Consumer Collections |

Ofgem has published proposals to cap charges for installing prepayment meters under warrant. An option in the consultation includes placing a firm limit on charges of £100 or £150. The proposals also include plans to ban prepayment meters warrant installation charges for the most vulnerable customers. When customers fall in debt, one option is for…

Read more

September 2016: Money Statistics

13th September 2016 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for September 2016: Personal Debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.496 trillion at the end of July 2016. This is up from £1.444 trillion at the end of July 2015 – an extra £1,028.50 per UK adult. Per adult in the UK that’s…

Read more

Law Commission’s Logbook Loan report released

12th September 2016 Consumer Collections |

The Law Commission has today published it’s report on Bill of Sale announcing a series of recommendations to protect borrowers from ‘unfair’ logbook loans. Logbook loans are a way for borrowers to use their vehicle as security for a loan. Borrowers who fall behind with payments can find their vehicle swiftly repossessed, as well as high…

Read more

Debt problems hit record high

7th September 2016 Consumer Collections |

New Research from StepChange has found that the number of people seeking help with debt problems has hit a record high with those affected increasingly likely to be younger, working part-time and renting their home. The charity’s Statistics Mid-Yearbook, released today, shows that over 300,000 people sought advice from StepChange Debt Charity between January and…

Read more

Young people in debt worry and are unlikely to seek advice

30th August 2016 Consumer Collections |

New research by the National Debtline has found that 37% of 18 to 24 year olds are already in debt, owing an average of nearly £3,000 (excluding student loans and mortgages). Young people are building up debt and worrying about money in their first few years of adult life, but far too few are seeking advice…

Read more

Student Loan interest increase from September

19th August 2016 Consumer Collections |

Following on from the Government announcement of March’s Retail Prices Index (RPI) rate of inflation at 1.6%, millions of students and graduates will be charged more interest on their student loans from September. The RPI rate of inflation is used to decide how much interest graduates pay on their student loans – a much higher figure…

Read more

London is the debt capital of Britain

18th August 2016 Consumer Collections |

Londoners are more likely to be struggling with debt than the rest of the UK costing  the city £1.4 billion a year according to a new report from StepChange Debt Charity. The report shows that the charity’s clients living in the capital owe more on credit cards and loans, have higher arrears on bills meaning that they…

Read more

E.on to refund overcharged customers

16th August 2016 Consumer Collections |

Energy Provider E.on will refund it’s customers after it spotted a flaw in the way some meters are being read.  Around 600 of its customers – both homes and businesses – are affected. Energy regulator Ofgem commented “Ofgem is aware that a very small number of gas customers are being incorrectly charged for their energy use and…

Read more

Possessions and arrears decrease

11th August 2016 Consumer Collections |

A report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has outlined statistics indicating that the number of mortgages in arrears continued to fall in the second quarter of this year and are now at its lowest level since records began more than 20 years ago. The CML data shows that at the end of June there were 92,500…

Read more

August 2016: Money Statistics

11th August 2016 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for August 2016: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.484 trillion at the end of June 2016. This is up from £1.444 trillion at the end of June 2015 – an extra £777.90 per UK adult. Per adult in the UK…

Read more

One in three working families only one pay cheque away from losing their home

9th August 2016 Consumer Collections |

The study by Shelter and YouGov found that one in three families have little or no personal savings to fall back meaning that a staggering three million working families could be just one pay cheque away from losing their home. The research also revealed that a fifth of working parents face the prospect of being immediately unable to…

Read more