Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published final guidance clarifying its expectations of firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. The guidance aims to drive improvements in the way firms treat vulnerable consumers so that they are consistently able to achieve outcomes that are as good as everybody else. People can find themselves in…
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Research by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) shows there were 220,000 more households living in destitution by the end of last year. The pandemic has helped push the figure up to 421,500 households – with destitution defined as a two-adult household living on less than £100 a week and a single-adult…
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New analysis published today by Standard Life Foundation has found that 1.8 million people excluded from government income support schemes have seen their total household incomes fall by at least a third during the pandemic – five times greater than the rest of the UK population. Only 9% of the rest of the population have…
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Latest statistics from the Insolvency Service have shown that personal and business insolvencies continue to remain low in comparison to previous years. There were 96 Individual Insolvencies In January 2021 which were 62% lower than January 2020; this consisted of 74 IVAs, 11 DROs and 11 bankruptcies. In January 2021 there were three company insolvencies…
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Latest statistics from the Insolvency Service have shown that personal insolvencies in England & Wales decreased by 13.7% to 8,305 in January 2020 compared to December’s figure of 9,623, and were 20.8% lower than January 2020’s figure of 10,482. Overall, numbers of individual insolvencies have remained low since the start of the first UK lockdown…
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Almost two million workers were unemployed or fully furloughed in January and had been for at least six months highlighting the scale of lasting damage to the UK’s labour force that will need to be addressed in the Budget, according to major new research published by the Resolution Foundation. The report titled Long Covid in…
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A joint statement by The Big Issue Ride Out Recession Alliance, Crisis, Citizens Advice, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Money Advice Trust, The Mortgage Works, National Residential Landlords Association, Nationwide Building Society, Propertymark, StepChange Debt Charity and Shelter has urged that the Chancellor takes action to tackle the rent debt crisis. The group says that at least…
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New research from Experian has found that one in six (60%) of consumers are e continuing to embrace digital transactions by using universal mobile wallets. The research has found that more people become accustomed to the security and convenience of the digital channel, digital transactions including mobile wallet payments are continuing to increase. The Global…
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New research by the Fabian Society has found that over 700,000 people in working or disabled households are to be pulled into poverty by universal credit cuts. The government has indicated that they will decide in early March whether to keep or scrap the temporary 12-month Covid payment giving claimants just a month to plan…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell in December 2020 by 18% compared with the same month in 2019, and decreased by 18% in 2020 as a whole. The retail store and online credit sector reported new business 6% lower in December than in the…
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The rapid roll-out of coronavirus vaccines and declining case numbers have made many households optimistic about their financial prospects, according to the latest Household Financial Confidence Tracker from comparethemarket.com. Nearly four fifths (79%) of households found paying their bills manageable over the past seven days and 82% are confident they will be able to meet…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released its latest Financial Lives survey (FLS), looking at consumers’ financial situations, the financial products they choose and their experiences of engaging with financial services firms. The FCA concluded its FLS research in February, and ran an extra survey in October in order to understand the impact of the…
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New analysis by FICO have indicated that the average balances on credit card accounts missing two or more payments are increasing. Analysis of card trends for December 2020 presents a mixed picture of UK consumer financial stability. Some of the data suggests that credit card users are managing their finances prudently, but where there is…
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