Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Harrington Brooks has been granted full authorisation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). As part of its new regime, the FCA wanted debt management firms to meet a set of required conditions, including: fair and transparent fees, the provision of suitable advice, fully trained employees, appropriate systems and controls to protect client money, and a…
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The CML Director General Paul Smee has addressed the FCA’s management of the mortgage market. In a keynote speech at the Scottish annual lunch Smee said “Regulators need a detailed understanding of the mortgage market, but should avoid micro-managing it. ” The FCA’s mortgage market study has recently resulted in significant levels of data being…
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The Citizens Advice has given its response to the budget announcement. Gillian Guy, Chief Executive of Citizens Advice, said “The Chancellor has set out good intentions for helping ordinary working families – the test will be if the government delivers on boosting income security and tackling failing consumer markets. We’ve repeatedly called for more support…
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Over 600,000 consumers of short term loans may no longer have access to credit, according to a report by the Consumer Finance Association (CFA) and economic analysts, Oxera. Without access to a regulated form of finance many consumers are unable to take action to manage their cash flow or cover emergency financial costs. They could end…
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The government has announced that it will be cracking down on misleading consumer practices including subscription traps, where people pay subscriptions they aren’t aware they’ve agreed to. A report from Citizens Advice last year found as many as 2 million people struggle to cancel continuous payments – often used for buying products online – and…
Read moreA Court of Appeal decision handed down earlier in the week has significant implications for thousands of personal insolvency procedures, says insolvency trade body R3. The Court of Appeal’s judgment in the case of Green v Wright has clarified what should happen to payment protection insurance (PPI) refunds paid to people who have completed an…
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Equifax has been granted full Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation. The FCA approval comes at a pivotal time for credit reference agencies (CRAs), with technological advances and shifts in customer behaviour fuelling important developments in data sharing, evidenced by industry initiatives such as Commercial Credit Data Sharing (CCDS) and the Open Banking Standard. Patricio Remon, President…
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Today sees the launch of the new Standard Financial Statement (SFS), an initiative designed to bring greater consistency to the way organisations assess people’s finances when they are in debt. The SFS, the launch of which has been co-ordinated by the Money Advice Service, will be adopted by all major debt advice providers across commercial and…
Read moreExperian has announced that it has achieved full Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) authorisation Charles Butterworth, Managing Director at Experian said ” The process has allowed Experian to stress-test our risk management structures and the plans we have in place to ensure fair outcomes for our customers. We have always looked to implement effective resolutions for people, to…
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Ofcom has announced that more than two million people who buy only a landline telephone service from BT will see their monthly bills cut by at least £5 per month. Ofcom has reviewed how the market is working for customers who buy only a landline service from a provider – either because they do not want…
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The latest complaint figures released by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) shows that Payday loans complaints have risen by 22%. Complaints to the financial ombudsman about payday loans have risen to almost 200 a week. During the second half of 2016 the Financial Ombudsman Service received 5,095 new payday lending complaints, up 22% on the first six…
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Energy switching hit a six-year high last year as more households shopped around for a better deal. 7.7 million gas or electricity switches took place in 2016, according to new data from Ofgem. This is 1.7 million more switches than the previous year, a surge of 28 per cent. In this way, switching rates last year…
Read moreThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have today published it’s latest data bulletin for The Consumer Contact Centre. The bulletin includes the latest trends in the retirement income market. The Consumer Contact Centre is the main point of contact for consumers of financial services firms who want to interact with the FCA; it handles more than…
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