Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Consumer spending stalled in April in the first sign that the cost of living is starting to hit the pockets of the average household, according to Nationwide Building Society’s latest Spending Report. As households appear to be starting to reduce spend, the rising costs of goods and services threatens to undermine their efforts, the data…
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The cost of living gap between rich and poor household is at its highest level since records began in mid-2000s according to the Resolution Foundation. The Foundation’s research found that the gap in the inflation experienced by the richest and poorest tenth of households grew to 1.5 percentage points in April – the largest gap…
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Latest data from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) have indicated that mortgage possession actions in Quarter 1 (Q1) have dropped significantly compared to Q1 2019. Compared to 2019, pre-Covid-19, mortgage possession claims, orders, warrants and repossessions by county court bailiffs have decreased by 53%, 47%, 55% and 57% respectively. However, compared to the same quarter in…
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More than half of older people living in rural areas (51%) are now concerned about paying their bills, according to research from insurer NFU Mutual. The figures have shot up in the past six months from 22%, as rising inflation impacts elderly rural dwellers. The number of people in rural communities concerned about their pension…
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A survey by KIS Finance has found that over 22% of those aged 18 to 35 have been forced to take on an additional job in order to make ends meet, as the cost-of-living crisis deepens. Whilst recent figures from the ONS show that unemployment fell to 3.7%, its lowest level in nearly 50 years, many are…
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New research by InDebted has found that around 2 in 3 UK adults (64%) who have interacted with existing debt collectors say the experience was stressful’, increasing to about 3 in 4 (74%) among 18-34-year-olds. The company polled over 2,000 people and found that one in three (34%) who previously or currently have debts say…
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Latest figures from the Insolvency Service have indicated that personal insolvencies in England & Wales decreased by 18.5% to 9,409 in April 2022 compared to 11,550 in March, and were 4.7% lower than April 2021’s figure of 9,873. The personal insolvencies figures show that there were 530 bankruptcies registered, which was 36% lower than in April…
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A rogue volume IVA provider has been wound-up by the Insolvency Service. Vanguard Insolvency Practitioners (along with three connected companies: MDN Consultancy Limited, Newtco Limited and KIS Financial Consultancy Limited) were wound-up in the public interest at the High Court in Manchester before His Honour Judge Hodge. Petitions were submitted to the court by the…
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The cost-of-living crisis has knocked consumer confidence again, according to the latest analysis from YouGov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr). As with last month and the month before, there was a modest fall in the overall index (-1.0 ) can be explained by a more severe decline in household finance measures, which…
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New figures from StepChange Debt Charity Scotland have indicated that client average arrears on essential bills have increasing by 29% from £2,302 in 2020 to £2,961 in 2021. The charity says that it helped over 28,600 clients with debt advice, and 8,433 went through a full debt advice process, with a growing proportion of clients…
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Demand for credit from households is expected to rise this year as cost of living pressures bite, according to the latest EY ITEM Club UK Bank Lending Forecast, which predicts consumer borrowing will grow to a five-year high of 7.9% in 2022 (equivalent to almost £16 billion in net terms). This is a trajectory reversal…
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New data from StepChange Debt Charity shows that the cost of living pressure continues to rise for financially stretched households, as it was the third most commonly cited reason for debt in March, up from the fourth most common in February and the sixth most common in 2021. While 6% of StepChange clients in 2021…
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The Credit Services Association (CSA), the UK trade body for debt collection and debt purchase, has released a new report exploring the provision of debt advice for those facing financial difficulties and in need of support. The report entitled ‘Wide of the Mark? Assessing the Delivery & Value of Free-To-Client Debt Advice’ argues that consistent…
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