Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) saw a 17% year-on-year increase in the number of complaints it received in Quarter 4 (Q4). FOS recorded 41,303 complaints between October and December, up from 35,342 during the same period in 2021. On a quarterly basis, there were 2,833 more complaints in Q4 than in the July to September…
Read more
Following Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps’ intervention last week, all energy suppliers have now committed to ending the forced installation of prepayment meters in vulnerable customers’ homes. Concerns were raised about the sharp rise in companies seeking warrants to enter people’s homes to forcibly install prepayment meters, Mr Shapps wrote to energy bosses insisting they…
Read more
Latest figures from the Ministry of Justice (October to December 2022) for England and Wales have revealed that landlord repossessions increased by 98% at the end of 2022 The new figures show that there were 5,409 landlord repossessions in this period, a 98% increase on the same quarter last year and a similar level to…
Read more
Ofgem has announced that, following constructive engagement with Ofgem, CO-OP Energy has agreed to deliver additional energy efficiency measures after the company did not meet its Energy Company Obligation (ECO3). CO-OP Energy was a domestic supplier previously but exited the market in August 2019. It has committed to make up any shortfall in energy savings…
Read more
Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps has given energy bosses a deadline of Tuesday (7th February) to report back to him on what remedial action – such as providing compensation – they plan to take should they have wrongfully installed prepayment meters in the homes of vulnerable customers. The Business Secretary has today told Ofgem…
Read more
As firms continue to get ready for the implementation of the Consumer Duty, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that is offering support to firms through the transition with a programme of engagement, which includes setting out in letters the expectations of the Duty and arranging a series of regional in-person events for specific groups of…
Read more
The annual bill for an average household in England and Wales will hit £448, industry body Water UK has said. The 7.5% increase means customers will mean that bills will rise by an average of £31 to £448 a year. It has also been announced that support for low-income households will also be increased to…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that is to push ahead with proposals to ban debt packager firms from receiving referral fees from debt solution providers, following further analysis of the market. The FCA initially consulted on a ban in November 2021 after identifying a lack of adequate management of the conflict of interest…
Read moreThe largest rise in the average household water and sewerage bill for almost 20 years could prove a tipping point for the one in five customers already struggling to pay. The Consumer Council for Water (CCW), the independent voice of water consumers, has issued the warning in response to Water UK confirming the average household…
Read more
New research by Fair4All Finance has found that the unprecedented support from banks and the regulator significantly helped customers during Covid-19, with no detrimental impact on bottom lines. The research conducted with Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group and Yorkshire Building Society looked at the response of major banks and building societies during Covid-19. The aim was to understand…
Read more
The Business and Energy Secretary Grant Shapps is calling on suppliers to do more to protect vulnerable energy users and has pledged to crack down on the mistreatment of energy users by suppliers, following reports showing some are doing nowhere near enough to support vulnerable customers. Shapps has written to energy suppliers calling on them…
Read more
As the cost of living continues to spiral people are cancelling or switching their insurance policies in a bid to make savings, according to research by Consumer Intelligence. Around 7% of people have already cut back on insurance to make savings in the last three months and a further 7% are considering back in the…
Read more
In an open letter sent today to the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt MP, 95 Charities and non-profit organisations across the UK have joined together to call for more targeted support in the form of a social tariff for the energy market to help older and disabled households heat their homes. New research by Age UK reveals strong…
Read more