Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Customers will need to pay an estimated £2.7 billion to cover the costs of 28 energy suppliers failing since June 2021, in addition to the cost of running Bulb Energy. While the supplier failures were caused by substantial increases in wholesale prices, Ofgem’s approach to licensing and monitoring suppliers over previous years increased the risk…
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Inflation increased slightly in May, but soaring petrol prices will drive a bigger rise in June, while low-income households continue to face the greatest cost-of-living pressures according to the Resolution Foundation. CPI inflation increased from 9 to 9.1 per cent, while CPIH rose from 7.8 to 7.9 per cent, driven primarily by household services (such…
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A third (33%) of households have multiple individual memberships for the same streaming service, when they could be saving money by paying for one household membership instead, according to research from comparethemarket.com. The research found that households spend £50 on average each month on paid-for subscriptions, the equivalent of £600 a year, with 32% spending…
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Latest statistics quarterly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvencies numbers increased by 23.3% compared to May 2021’s figure of 8,496 and increased by 11.2% to 10,476 in May 2022 compared to 9,417 in April. There were 2,030 DROs and 566 bankruptcies. For individuals, 566 bankruptcies were registered, which was…
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More than 2 million households face increased mortgage payments after the latest Bank of England interest rate rise. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 6-3 to increase the bank rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 1.25%. The members in the minority voted to increase the bank rate by 0.5 percentage points,…
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As the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meets to decide whether to impose a further rise in interest rates, the majority of Britons are already cutting back on their spending figures from the Building Societies Association (BSA) With inflation at a 40-year high, the Bank of England’s efforts to cool it down by raising interest rates three…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has written to more than 3,500 lenders to remind them of the standards they should meet as consumers across the country are affected by the rising cost of living. With household bills expected to continue to rise into the autumn, it is important that firms act now to make sure…
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More than two in five Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) customers borrowed money to make repayments research bt Citizens Advice has found. The types of borrowing included overdrafts, borrowing from friends and family, loans and payday loans. The most popular was credit cards (26%). Younger shoppers were most likely to borrow to pay off BNPL…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for May 2022 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,781.7 billion at the end of March 2022. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £64,107 and per adult was £33,686, around 108.0% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
Read moreNew research by Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has found that inflation for the poorest households is likely to increase even faster than for the richest, and could hit 14% in October. The IFS analysis incorporating an £800 increase to Ofgem’s tariff cap in October shows that the pattern of poorer households being hit harder…
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Water regulator, Ofwat has published new guidelines for water companies to help household customers across England and Wales pay bills, get help and repay debts. The new guidelines cover several areas, including requiring companies to: Offer more flexible payment options for customers on irregular incomes and zero-hours contracts; Talk sensitively with customers struggling to pay…
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Ofgem boss Jonathan Brearley has told MPs the regulator expects the price cap to increase by more than £800 this October as the war in Ukraine continues to exacerbate the energy crisis. Appearing before the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee both Brearley and former Ofgem Chief Executive Dermot Nolan apologised for not intervening…
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One in five people in Scotland are running out of money before payday, new polling for Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) by YouGov has revealed. The polling shows 9 per cent of people always run out of money before pay day – defined as wages as well as pensions and benefit payments. A further 11 per…
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