Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
With the latest projections from Cornwall Insight pointing to the next price cap exceeding £3,300 this winter, Energy UK is calling the Government to again look at actions that could reduce customer bills. These could include removing VAT from bills, moving existing levies onto general taxation and seeing whether other costs can be spread over a…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has told a number of energy suppliers to take immediate and urgent action after a review found a range of weaknesses or failings in the way they charge customers direct debits. Out of a total of 17 large suppliers in the market, the majority were found to only have minor issues, but…
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The Credit Services Association (CSA), the UK trade body for the debt collection and debt purchase industry, has cautiously welcomed the Government’s recent announcement of their intention to reform and modernise the now almost fifty-year-old Consumer Credit Act. In a new report, the trade body draws attention to the mismatch between the requirements of the…
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Registry Trust, the not-for-profit organisation which maintains the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, is calling on stakeholders from across the credit and debt landscape to support its project to create a Register of Partial Settlements. Registry Trust’s monetary judgments data is used for public good in millions of credit and lending decisions every year…
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Ofgem has appointed Octopus Energy to take on supplying UKEIH’s 3000 domestic customers following a competitive process run by Ofgem to get the best deal possible for customers. Funds that current and former domestic customers of the supplier have paid into their accounts will be protected, where they are in credit. Domestic customers will also…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and MoneyHelper are urging consumers to get help as soon as possible if they are struggling financially because of the rising cost of living. Millions of people get help with their finances every year. However, new research suggests many borrowers are missing out on available support. The research reveals some…
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The UK’s biggest mobile and broadband companies have agreed on a plan to help customers struggling to pay bills amid the cost of living crisis. The Telecoms industry agreed to the new plan following a government summit led by Digital Secretary Nadine Dorries. The new measures such as allowing customers struggling with bills to move…
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The Enforcement Conduct Board, the new oversight body for the enforcement sector, has announced the appointment of four new non-executive board members. The four new board members are Alan Cavill is Director of Communications and Regeneration at Blackpool Council, supporting a town that has 8 of the ten most deprived neighbourhoods in England and is…
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The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has published a new Enforcement Notice about Debt Management (IVA/PTD) adverts (ads) by Insolvency Practitioners and Lead Generation Companies. The ASA has published several rulings about ads which offered consumers a way to write off debt in government-approved schemes. These ads were not placed by FCA-authorised debt advisers but by lead generation…
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Customers will need to pay an estimated £2.7 billion to cover the costs of 28 energy suppliers failing since June 2021, in addition to the cost of running Bulb Energy. While the supplier failures were caused by substantial increases in wholesale prices, Ofgem’s approach to licensing and monitoring suppliers over previous years increased the risk…
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Latest statistics quarterly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvencies numbers increased by 23.3% compared to May 2021’s figure of 8,496 and increased by 11.2% to 10,476 in May 2022 compared to 9,417 in April. There were 2,030 DROs and 566 bankruptcies. For individuals, 566 bankruptcies were registered, which was…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has announced the next steps in their plans to prevent the kind of energy supplier failures we saw last year and to better protect consumers’ money if they do fail. The plans set out tough new measures to improve the financial health of energy suppliers meaning they can stand up to future…
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More than 2 million households face increased mortgage payments after the latest Bank of England interest rate rise. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a majority of 6-3 to increase the bank rate by 0.25 percentage points, to 1.25%. The members in the minority voted to increase the bank rate by 0.5 percentage points,…
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