Tenants pay as much as 43% of earnings to rent

20th January 2023 Arrears and Recoveries | #rental

Latest insight into the rental sector has revealed that the average tenant is paying 23.5% of their net earnings on the cost of renting, climbing as high as 42.8% in the nation’s least affordable pockets of the rental market according to research by Ocasa. The research shows that the average household earns £4,030 after tax…

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One in seven cut back on insurance due to cost of living costs

As the cost of living continues to spiral people are cancelling or switching their insurance policies in a bid to make savings, according to research by Consumer Intelligence. Around 7% of people have already cut back on insurance to make savings in the last three months and a further 7% are considering back in the…

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Two in five over-55s saw costs exceed income in 2022

18th January 2023 Arrears and Recoveries |

Almost two in five over-55s (39%) said that their outgoings exceeded their income during parts of 2022, new data from more2life and economics consultancy Cebr has found, with a growing number turning to unsecured borrowing to cover shortfalls. The research also revealed that the number of people whose spending exceeded their income every month has more than doubled to 8% (2022) from…

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Personal insolvencies fell by 20.4% in December

Latest monthly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvencies decreased by 20.4% to 8,339 in December 2022 compared to 10,473 in November. They were 1.3% lower than December 2021’s figure of 8,453, and 0.8% lower than December 2019 (8,406). There were 397 bankruptcies were registered, which was 13%…

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Family incomes still shrinking

16th January 2023 Arrears and Recoveries |

Surprise economic growth in November means that the UK is unlikely to have fallen into recession last year. But this will be of cold comfort for many families who are still in the midst of a deep living standards downturn according to the Resolution Foundation. With latest ONS GDP data showing a surprising growth of…

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Second charge mortgages grew by 9% in November

Latets figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that Second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 9% in November 2022 Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Director of Consumer & Mortgage Finance and Inclusion at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said…

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3.2m ran out of credit on prepayment meters couldn’t afford to top up

12th January 2023 Arrears and Recoveries | #energy debt

New research from Citizens Advice found that 3.2 million people across Great Britain ran out of credit on their prepayment meter last year because they couldn’t afford to top up. That’s one person every 10 seconds – cut off from their energy supply as the cost-of-living crisis left people struggling to keep the lights on.…

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FCA consults about protections for insurance customers in financial difficulty

12th January 2023 Arrears and Recoveries | #insurance

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing to update guidance, introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic, to support insurance customers in financial difficulty. As part of the FCA’s ongoing work to help protect customers during the current cost of living squeeze, this will provide clarity to firms about how they should support all struggling customers, not…

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One in five now borrowing to pay for food and other essential bills

12th January 2023 Arrears and Recoveries | #borrow

One in five people (over 12 million) now borrowing to pay for food and other essential bills, with half doing so for the first time according to research by Money and Pensions Service,  The survey of 2,180 UK adults, carried out by the Money and Pensions Service, shows that one in five (23%) have relied…

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Households halfway through two-year cost-of-living crisis with incomes set to fall by £2,100

Typical household disposable incomes for working-age families are on track to fall by 3 per cent this financial year, and by 4 per cent next year, with the two-year cost-of-living squeeze set to leave families £2,100 worse off and only the very richest households seeing their incomes rise, according to new research by the Resolution…

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More than eight million financially stretched

3rd January 2023 Arrears and Recoveries |

More than eight million adults are financially fragile and at risk of being over-stretched due to record levels of unsecured debt and rising interest rates amid the cost-of-living crisis, according to a report by PwC and TotallyMoney. The report found that 8.9 million adults are showing signs that their finances are teetering on the brink,…

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More than a quarter of people expect to start 2023 in debt

19th December 2022 Arrears and Recoveries | #debt

More than a quarter of people will be seeing in the new year in debt according to new research by Tesco Bank. The types of debts covered included informal debts such as borrowing from friends or family, as well as credit card spending, overdrafts, loans or buy now pay later spending, On average, people expect…

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Northern Irish business insolvencies double whilst personal insolvencies fall

14th December 2022 Business |

Latest monthly statistics from the Insolvency Service have indicated that Northern Irish business insolvencies doubled whilst personal insolvency numbers fell. In November 2022 there were 20 business insolvencies registered in Northern Ireland, this is more than double the number in November 2021, but 35% lower than in November 2019. The business insolvencies comprised of 16…

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