Consumers denied access to financial products as a result of the pandemic

27th December 2020 Consumer Collections |

New research by Royal London reveals that the pandemic has adversely affected consumers’ ability to access basic financial products. The figures indicate that taking out personal loans, credit cards and overdrafts has become more difficult, and many people are turning to the benefits system, often for the first time. Since the virus hit in March,…

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More than 800,000 renters in arrears due to the pandemic

23rd December 2020 Consumer Collections |

Over 800,000 private renters in England and Wales have built rent arrears since lockdown measures began according to estimates from new research by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA). A survey of tenants for the Association by consultancy Dynata suggests that 7 per cent of private renters have built arrears due to Covid-19 pandemic. Applied…

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Money Statistics: December 2020

22nd December 2020 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for December 2020 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,688.5 billion at the end of October 2020. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £60,580 and per adult was £31,867, around 109.1% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…

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Household divide continues to widen sharply

22nd December 2020 Consumer Collections |

The divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ continues to grow starkly as we move towards the end of a year dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the December 2020 Money Statistics, produced by The Money Charity. As statistics move into the final months of 2020 and with winter still to come, the…

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Ofgem provides record £348m vulnerable consumer support

21st December 2020 Consumer Collections |

Ofgem has today published its annual report on the Warm Home Discount (WHD) showing that vulnerable customers benefited from over £348m of support from suppliers last winter. The WHD is a government scheme administered by Ofgem requiring larger and medium-sized suppliers to provide support to customers living in fuel poverty. Last winter, all 19 obligated…

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4.7m struggled to afford their telecoms bills this year

21st December 2020 Consumer Collections |

New Ofcom research reveals the challenges and tough choices many telecoms customers are facing this year, with more action needed from the industry to support customers in financial difficulty. Ofcom says that reliance on phone and broadband services has increased significantly in recent years, and this trend accelerated in 2020 as people continue to spend…

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Government announces furlough extension

18th December 2020 Consumer Collections |

The Government has announced that the furlough scheme will been extended until the end of April 2021, meaning that the Government will continue to contribute 80% towards wages. The Government says that it has made the move to ensure firms can access the support they need through continuing economic disruption. So far, the Coronavirus Job…

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Personal insolvencies fall by 22%

16th December 2020 Consumer Collections |

New figures from the Insolvency Service have shown that personal insolvencies in England and Wales fell by 22% in November 2020, with 9,319 personal insolvencies compared to October’s figure of 11,945, and were 3% lower than November 2019’s figure of 9,568. Both DROs and Bankruptcies fell by around one third in November 2020 compared with…

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Scottish Personal insolvencies decrease 32%

16th December 2020 Consumer Collections |

Scottish personal insolvencies in November 2020 fell by almost a third when compared with November 2019 numbers. The figures released by Accountant in Bankruptcy (AIB), Scotland’s Insolvency Service which administers company liquidations and receiverships in Scotland showed that in November 2020 that there were 8,417 personal insolvencies in the year to the end of November…

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Northern Irish business and personal insolvencies continue to fall

16th December 2020 Personal Insolvency |

Northern Irish personal insolvencies decreased by two thirds according to the latest Insolvency Service figures. Personal insolvencies numbers in November 2020 fell by two-thirds compared with November 2019. There were 91 personal insolvencies down 68% from November 2019; this consisted of 52 IVAs, 17 DROs and 22 bankruptcies. Company insolvencies in November 2020 fell by…

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Over 2m households in energy arrears

16th December 2020 Consumer Collections |

New research from Citizens Advice has shown that 2.1million households are behind on their energy bills, 600,000 more than in February. The charity’s research also reveals a quarter of all energy customers, up to seven million households, worry they won’t be able to pay their bill this winter. According to data, the charity has obtained…

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Over half of consumers have had to cut back on food spend

15th December 2020 Consumer Collections |

New survey results from debt  PayPlan have found that during a year where two-thirds saw an income drop due to Covid-19, the majority of parents are worrying about how they will feed their children and far too many are going without food themselves. A lack of income forced 55% of people to cut back on…

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43% of consumers will need credit before the end of this year

14th December 2020 Consumer Collections |

A recent financial survey by KIS Finance has revealed that 43.2% of consumers anticipate having to take out some kind of credit facility before the end of this year. The company says that Christmas is already an expensive time of year and scammers know that many people struggle financially and turn to borrowing to get them through. With…

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