Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The FinandilcConduct Authority (FCA) has fined Pembrokeshire Mortgage Centre Limited (PMC) (trading as County Financial Consultants) (in liquidation) £2,354,331 for unsuitable advice to consumers to transfer out of the British Steel Pension Scheme (BSPS) and other defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. The FCA’s view is that most people should keep the guaranteed income provided by…
Read more
Energy regulator Ofgem has announced its quarterly update to the energy price cap for the period 1st January – 31st March 2023. The price cap is set to rise to an annual level of £4,279 in January 2023, but bill-payers remain protected under the government’s Energy Price Guarantee (EPG). The energy price cap level indicates…
Read more
Over 27 million households across UK received money off their energy bills last month as the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) provided £1.8 billion in payments. New figures released today show the EBSS successfully provided a £66 discount for 97% of eligible households in England, Scotland and Wales in its first month. This is the…
Read more
The chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivered his Autumn Statement yesterday (Thursday 17th November) in which he announced £30 billion in spending cuts and £25 billion in tax rises. Responding to the Autumn Statement, David Postings, Chief Executive of UK Finance, said “These are challenging times for the country and the chancellor has had to take some…
Read more
The Civil Enforcement Association (CIVEA) has welcomed the launch of a ground-breaking oversight body Enforcement Conduct Board (ECB). A new unique partnership between the debt advice sector and the enforcement industry, with support from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ), has led to the establishment of the ECB. The ECB was formed as an independent,…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority says seven lenders have agreed to pay £12m in compensation to nearly 60,000 customers to correct repayment agreements that were unaffordable and unsustainable, in the wake of the pandemic and the cost-of-living squeeze. The regulator has also told a total of 32 mortgage and consumer credit firms to make changes to…
Read more
The Bank of England has raised interest rates from 2.25% to 3%. The increase is the biggest rise for 33 years, taking rates to their highest point since they were slashed during the financial crisis, at the end of 2008. Responding to the announcement, Jane Tully, Director of External Affairs and Partnerships at Money Advice…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has updated its guidance on how banks should approach branch and ATM closures. The regulator is now asking banks to assess what affect partial closures, such as removing counter services or permanently reducing opening hours, will have on customers and to put alternatives in place before changes are made. Since…
Read more
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has announced the outcome of its debt advice commissioning process for England. MaPS has said that it intends, subject to the conclusion of the mandatory ten-day standstill period, to award contracts to the following organisations to provide national and business debt advice, and administration of debt relief orders (DROs).…
Read more
Most water companies will be hit by financial penalties because of missed targets, water regulator Ofwat has announced. Overall, for those eleven companies, almost £150m is planned to be taken off customers’ bills in the next financial year because of missed targets on areas such as water supply interruptions, pollution incidents and internal sewer flooding.…
Read more
Almost half a million (450,000 people) could be made to pay their energy bills with a prepayment meter by the end of 2022 because they’ve fallen into debt according to new analysis from Citizens Advice. The charity analysed Ofgem data on the number of customers moved to prepayment meters due to their existing debt to…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has urged insurers to treat customers fairly amid concerns that the cost of living crisis may prompt households and businesses to cut back on insurance, leaving them without adequate protection – or with none at all. In a letter to Chief Executives in the insurance industry, the FCA has called…
Read moreUrgent reform of Universal Credit (UC) is needed to provide support to vulnerable households, according to responsible lender Creditspring, with nearly a third (29%) of low earners now reliant on savings to pay bills – compared to 21% average for the rest of the UK. The research also indicates that almost a quarter (22%) of…
Read more