Only highest earners are able to rent privately at affordable cost

7th October 2021 News |

Latest ONS figures have highlighted that private renters on median income could expect to spend 23% of their income on a median-priced rented home in England. These figures are down from a recent high of 26.3% in 2016 because recently average wages have grown faster than average rents. The figures showed that East Midlands and North…

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Consumers slash spending as winter of prices rises worries grow

7th October 2021 Consumer Collections |

Consumers have slashed spending as worries about winter of prices rises grow according to new research by AJ Bell. The research found that 59% of people are already making cutbacks amid rising costs with a quarter of the poorest households think cutting back will keep their finances on track. Rising energy bills and food costs…

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Chair of Open Banking resigns

4th October 2021 Consumer Collections |

The Chair of the Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE), the body set up to deliver open banking in the UK, has resigned as an investigation found that the agency allowed’“a culture of bullying and intimidation to prevail.” The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says Imran Gulamhuseinwala tendered his resignation as trustee and chair as part…

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Nearly two thirds workers on furlough received support beyond financial

1st October 2021 Consumer Collections |

Nearly two thirds (64%) of furloughed adults have received some form of support beyond financial while being on furlough, research from Canada Life has revealed. With the scheme drawing to a close at the end of September, the findings demonstrate employers’ commitment to supporting their employees throughout the pandemic. Among those workers who received consistent…

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Post-lockdown boost to financial wellbeing fading

29th September 2021 Consumer Collections |

The boost to financial wellbeing triggered by the relaxing of pandemic measures dipped during the third quarter despite the first rise in household income from employment since Q1 2020, according to the latest Scottish Widows Household Finance Index. The Index, which measures households’ overall perceptions of financial wellbeing, dipped from 44.7 in the second quarter…

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Money Statistics: September 2021

28th September 2021 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for September 2021 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,741.7 billion at the end of July 2021. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £62,670 and per adult was £32,931, around 109.3% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending fell by…

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Mortgage repayments hit record £38bn

27th September 2021 Consumer Collections |

Mortgage repayments jumped by 20% to a record £38 billion in the first half of the year compared to 12 months ago, according to latest Equity Release Council statistics. Debt payments were fuelled by regular repayments and record overpayments, new borrowing ahead of the stamp duty deadline and fewer mortgage payment holidays, as customers began…

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Four in ten Universal Credit households face 13% energy bills increase

24th September 2021 Consumer Collections |

The Government must do more to protect low-and-middle-income households from rising energy bills, with families on Universal Credit (UC) four times as likely as the wider population to be on pre-payment meters and therefore face higher energy bill hikes in October, new Resolution Foundation research had found. The Foundation notes that 4.4 million households on…

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New report calls for Government to support those hit financially by pandemic

23rd September 2021 Consumer Collections |

A new report is urging the Government to take the lead in supporting consumers to recover financially from the pandemic. Innovation Foundation Nesta has commissioned  Guaranteeing a Rapid Recovery – a report from the Social Market Foundation (SMF) which sets a series of recommendations for government and innovators to support consumers as they recover from the pandemic. The research…

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Call for interest-free loans for renters when furlough ends

22nd September 2021 Consumer Collections |

Private renters and landlords across the country face a cliff edge as the end of furlough coincides with cuts to benefit support. With the Bank of England warnings indicating that renters are more likely than any other group to have lost their jobs or been furloughed, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) argues that many…

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Personal insolvencies show minor increase

20th September 2021 Consumer Collections |

Personal insolvencies in England & Wales  increased by 0.2% to 9,106 in August 2021 compared to July’s figure of 9,090, and were 42.7 % higher than August 2020’s figure of 6,381 according latest Insolvency Services figures. There were, 614 bankruptcies were registered, which was 22% lower than August 2020 and 54% lower than August 2019.…

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Call for support for struggling homeowners as furlough ends

20th September 2021 Consumer Collections |

UK Finance and the Building Societies Association are calling for important changes to be made to the Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme to help struggling homeowners as the furlough scheme draws to a close. SMI is a government loan scheme that helps homeowners who are in receipt of benefits1, but as it stands, they…

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Northern Irish personal and business insolvencies increase

20th September 2021 Consumer Collections |

Latest statistics from the Insolvency Service have shown that Northern Irish personal and business insolvencies numbers increased in August when compared to 2020’s figures. In August 2021 there were 148 personal insolvencies in Northern Ireland, 38% higher than August 2020 but 28% lower than August 2019. This consisted of 127 IVAs, 15 DROs and six…

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