Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Insolvency Service has published a revised Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) protocol to improve the service currently offered to people in debt and safeguard them from poor practice. IVAs are a legally binding agreement between a person who is insolvent and their creditors. The new protocol includes an easy-to-read ‘key facts’ document, which will be given to…
Read more
Eight energy suppliers have committed to compensation and debt write off for at least 40,000 consumers who had an involuntary prepayment meter installed for issues including poor data quality and record keeping, and unfair treatment of customers following an Ofgem investigation. The investigation found that suppliers that fell short of required standards when trying to…
Read more
More than £1 billion in incorrect Universal Credit (UC) payments have been blocked by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) in a drive to stop people falling into financial difficulties. The milestone was reached after a programme to review payments was ramped up last summer, with more than one million cases now looked at.…
Read more
Energy regulator Ofgem has announced a 7% reduction of the energy price cap for the period covering July to September 2025. A recent fall in wholesale prices is the main driver of the overall reduction, accounting for around 90% of the fall. The remainder is primarily due to changes to the operating cost allowances energy…
Read more
The Credit Services Association (CSA), the trade body for the debt collection and purchase industry, has released a comprehensive report highlighting the urgent need for reform of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). In a new report, it recommends the option of folding FOS into the Financial Conduct Authority, saving significant costs and efficiencies and…
Read more
Ten energy suppliers will pay £7 million in compensation and refunds after overcharging more than 34,000 customers, following a review by the energy regulator Ofgem Ofgem said the suppliers had agreed to pay more than 34,000 customers compensation and refunds because of erroneously billing them more for standing charges than is allowed under the regulator’s price cap.…
Read more
Good Energy has paid over £150,000 in compensation and redress after failing to provide final bills and refund credit balances to prepayment meter customers. An investigation by the energy regulator, Ofgem, found that 2,284 prepayment meter customer accounts were affected between 2014 and October 2023 due to an error within its billing system. As a…
Read more
The Government says that more than one million households struggling with debt will get to keep an average £420 more of their benefits each year, under a change to Universal Credit which starts today (Wednesday 30th April 2025). The Fair Repayment Rate places a limit on how much people in debt can have taken off…
Read more
MPs, Government Department Officials and supporting organisation in Parliament have joined a call for urgent changes that would support a fresh financial start for in-debt survivors of domestic, economic and digital abuse so they are better protected. The roundtable, hosted and chaired by Emily Darlington MP, focused on the Persons At Risk of Violence (PARV) order process – the…
Read more
The High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEOA) has backed the Civil Justice Council’s (CJC) Enforcement report and is calling on the Ministry of Justice and HMCTS to act to bring forward its key recommendations with a clear timeline for implementation. The aim of the Civil Justice Council Enforcement report was to consider ways in which…
Read more
Birmingham’s residents are set to be hit hardest by rising council tax rates for 2025/26, new research by Go.Compare Home Insurance has found. Households across the city will pay an extra £43.1 million this tax year – the largest overall increase of any local authority in England.[ The country can expect a total council tax…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has highlighted that banks and building societies can improve how they treat customers affected by bereavement or registering a power of attorney. Since the introduction of the Consumer Duty, some firms are making a real difference with clear policies and procedures and actively using data to better identify needs and…
Read more
After a tough Budget and Spring Statement for low-to-middle income households, the Government’s Spending Review could brighten a bleak living standards outlook by prioritising spending on services they use the most, according to new research by the Resolution Foundation. The research notes that public services are crucial for quality of life, providing ‘in-kind’ benefits worth…
Read more