Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) is launching a new online tool to help people navigate their finances in the wake of Covid-19 and avoid financial issues worsening in future, as the organisation reveals over 1 million people have already looked to MaPS for help dealing with the financial impact of the pandemic. The Money…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed that the credit card payments freeze could be extended for another three months for customers still suffering from the economic impact of coronavirus. After imposing a three-month pause on repayments for those struggling amid the fallout of the pandemic on the economy, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has…
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A survey of over 4,000 customers by Virgin Money found one in eight had called on their bank for help in the form of overdrafts and payment holidays on mortgages, personal loans and credit cards, the equivalent of about 8 million people. Virgin Money’s Financial Happiness report found that 1 in 4 (24%) of those…
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The Bank of England’s latest money statistics reports that households repaid more loans from banks than they took out. A £4.6 billion net repayment of consumer credit more than offset a small increase in mortgage borrowing. Approvals for mortgages for house purchases fell further in May to 9,300. The repayments on consumer credit dropped to…
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Households are increasingly struggling to make ends meet as the covid-19 pandemic crisis continues, with research suggesting a worrying increase in family debt. Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) shows that one in seven households are falling behind on repaying their mortgages due to the coronavirus pandemic. The study found that 1.4 million…
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Energy regulator, Ofgem is consulting on plans to standardise and strengthen support for prepayment customers and for all customers who are struggling to pay their energy bills. In March this year, suppliers voluntarily agreed to support vulnerable customers through COVID-19, including those on prepayment meters facing difficulties in topping up while self-isolating or in financial…
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Three-quarters of people will struggle to pay off their debt after lockdown according to new research bey free debt advice company, PayPlan. The company conducted a survey to find out how people in debt have been affected during the Coronavirus outbreak. The FCA have extended payment holidays for mortgages and other debts, and although the…
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New research from Admiral home insurance has revealed that one in five consumers has confessed to spending on new things to make lockdown at home more bearable during the lockdown. The analysis suggests that housebound consumers splashed out an average of £792 each on everything from craft equipment to garden furniture, technology to toys, which…
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A new business coalition that aims to provide emergency COVID-19 support for the digitally and financially excluded has launched. Good Things Foundation, The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The APLE Collective, Clean Slate Training & Employment CIC and Mastercard have formed a coalition of partners to offer immediate support to digitally and financially excluded people in the UK,…
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New research by Policy in Practice shows that people on low incomes could lose £100’s of pounds if they are asked to self isolate due to Test and Trace. Some households who are asked to self-isolate will struggle to bear the immediate financial costs of relying on Statutory Sick Pay. If their loss of earnings…
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Families falling out of work during the coronavirus pandemic crisis are on average £1,600 worse off in benefits than they would have done without a decade of austerity according to new analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). The IFS says benefits for out-of-work households are worth 10% less than in 2011. The analysis…
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The number of Universal Credit claims made by the over 50s more than doubled in May compared with March this year, rising from 304,000 to nearly 660,000 in just two months, with further analysis showing that the age bracket do not have enough money to pay for basic necessities, a study of labour market statistics has…
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Lower-income households are twice as likely as high-income households to have increased their use of consumer credit during the crisis, and are 50 per cent more likely to be saving less than usual, leaving them particularly exposed to the ongoing economic crisis, according to a major new Resolution Foundation report. The Rainy Days, report published…
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