Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
More than 1.9 million mortgage payment deferrals have been offered to customers impacted by Covid-19 in the three months since the support was launched according to new figures from UK Finance which means that one in six mortgages in the UK are now subject to a payment deferral. UK Finance says that this means that…
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Severe economic disruption caused by COVID-19 will see a short-term hit for the UK mortgage market, but payments holidays should keep it afloat and see growth from 2021, according data and analytics company GlobalData. GlobalData’s post-COVID-19 amended forecasts expect a decline of 1.3% in mortgage loans in 2020, down from 2.6% previously. Its overall compound…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced proposals to extend the payment freeze of consumer credit products for people whose finances have been negatively impacted by Covid-19. The proposals outline the support firms would be expected to provide credit card and other revolving credit (store card and catalogue credit) and personal loan customers coming to…
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New research by the Joseph Roundtree Foundation (JRF) and Save the Children has revealed that nearly two thirds of hard-pressed families on Universal Credit are borrowing money to stay afloat during the Covid-19 emergency, as the organisations call for an urgent £20 a week increase to the Child Element of Universal Credit and Child Tax…
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Firms must do more to ensure they are always giving appropriate advice to equity release consumers, a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) review has found. Demand for later life lending has grown in recent years. With the option of no monthly payments, equity release is an attractive option for some – allowing consumers to benefit from…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued warnings about two unauthorised firms that appear to impersonate the free, charity-run debt advice service National Debtline. The firms use the names ‘National-Debt-Helpline’ and ‘National Debtlines’ online. These warnings are part of a wider problem of commercial firms masquerading to be legitimate debt advice charities. In 2019, the…
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The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has published its Corporate Plan for 2020/21, outlining the organisation’s strategic priorities and its immediate response to the coronavirus outbreak. The plan was due to be published at the beginning of April but has been delayed to allow a review of how priorities will be flexed in response to…
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Consumers who have experienced mental health problems are three times as likely to run out of money within a week if they lost their main source of income as those who have never had issues, during pandemic according to a new report by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. People with mental health problems…
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The Association of British Credit Unions Limited (ABCUL) has welcomed the decision by CreditFix to drop a £84.12 fee across its entire IVA portfolio – an action would have provided the company with up to £7million in additional income. Despite temporary measures being put in place to ensure that anyone in an IVA could access…
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As high street shops, department stores and shopping centres reopen today as the Government eases lockdown measures consumers have had more time than usual to mull over both spending and life decisions. New research from The Share Centre has found that consumers have spent 22 days deciding what car to buy, 19 days deciding what…
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The Insolvency Service has published its latest insolvency statistics which have shown a year on year rise in individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) in England & Wales. In the three months ending May 2020 there was a monthly average of 7,899 registered IVAs. The figures show that there were 1,540 Debt relief orders and 739 bankruptcies…
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The Accountant in Bankruptcy, Scotland’s Insolvency Service that administers person insolvencies in Scotland has published its statistics for May 2020 which indicated that there were 616 personal insolvencies (bankruptcies and protected trust deeds (PTDs)) in May 2020, The figures show that this 650 (51.3%) less than in May 2019. Bankruptcies decreased by 79.3% in May…
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The Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) continues to call for the Government and the Bank of England to take immediate action to support the non-bank lending market, as new FLA figures released today show that the number of Covid-19 related requests for forbearance reached 1,623,000 (over 1.6 million) in the twelve weeks to 29th May…
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