Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Credit Connect’s hosted the latest edition of the Connected News series last week which saw a discussion focused on the delivery of responsible vulnerable communications strategies and the future of the sector discussed by four leading collections professionals. Banks, credit card providers, building societies, loan providers, collections specialists, utility firms and fintechs were amongst the…
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A coalition of consumer groups, charities and financial services industry bodies, including Which? UK Finance, Martin Lewis and MoneySavingExpert, the Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association (PIMFA), the Investment Association, the Association of British Insurers and the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute, among many others have renewed its call for the Government to…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced it has taken action against five ‘debt packager firms’ – otherwise known as IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) lead generators – stopping them from providing regulated debt advice. This comes following concerns over firms failing to properly manage conflicts of interest, manipulating income and expenditure figures, trying to promote…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has criticised Provident Financial’s plans to cap compensation for customers of its failed doorstep lending arm,. The regulator has also said it would not oppose the lender in court. Provident has set aside £50 million under a scheme of arrangement to reimburse customers who were mis-sold loans. The FCA said…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has made a commitment to be a more, innovative, adaptive and assertive regulator. The commitment reflects the FCA’s Business Plan for 2021/22, the first annual plan since Nikhil Rathi joined the FCA as Chief Executive in October 2020. Rathi said “The FCA must continue to become a forward-looking, proactive regulator.…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Lloyds Bank’s insurance arm £90,688,400 (£90 million) for sending insurance renewal letters to customers suggesting they were getting a ‘competitive price’ without backing up the claim. The FCA says that Lloyds failed to ensure that language contained within millions of home insurance renewals communications was clear, fair and…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and Bank of England (the regulators) are seeking views on regulatory plans to improve diversity and inclusion in financial services. In a discussion paper, the regulators have revealed policy options including, among others, the use of targets for representation, measures to make senior leaders directly accountable for…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has revealed its measures on how it will regulate advice on funeral plans, including a ban on commission payments and changes to appointed representative permissions. The rules will commence on 29th July 2022 when funeral plan providers come under regulation from 29th July 2022. The new rules will introduce high…
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The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has paid out £584 million in compensation helping 52,623 (1,131 firms) families and businesses in the past year (2020/21). The FSCS has either paid customers compensation or enabled them to transfer to a new financial provider for their investment or insurance policy. The latest figures compare to £527 million…
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Customers of gas and electricity suppliers are being plagued by inaccurate bills research from Citizens Advice has indicated. The charity ranks energy companies based on a series of criteria including customer service which displayed was a clear divide between the best and worst-performing energy suppliers during the first three months of the year. The report…
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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has issued a formal warning to Monzo, NatWest, Virgin Money and Bank of Ireland for failing to send bank statements to 150,000 former customers. Competition rules require lenders to send customers a history of their current account banking activity within 40 days of closing their accounts. As a result…
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The High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA) has released new guidance on VAT. The HCEOA has written to all members with an updated recommendation regarding the treatment of VAT on High Court enforcement fees, ahead of expected new guidance from the UK Government. The HCEOA has recommended to all members that their treatment of VAT…
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The Lending Standards Board (LSB) says banks must urgently improve the way they apply a code that reimburses bank transfer scam victims. The LSB warned of systemic failings and said firms must work without delay to ensure the best outcomes for customers. It has written to the Chief Executives of banks which have signed up…
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