Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Energy regulator Ofgem has announced that the default price cap on energy bills is set to fall from £1,254 to £1,179 from 1st October for this winter period (October-March). The pre-payment meter cap will fall from £1,242 to £1,217 per year for the same six month period. As a result, energy bills will fall this winter…
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The Treasury Committee has published a report on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) perimeter of regulation. The report draws upon the Treasury Committee’s ongoing scrutiny of the work of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to make a series of recommendations to HM Treasury on the remit and powers of the FCA. One of the Committee’s…
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Energy company, Solarplicity Utility Services has entered administration. Solarplicity Utility Services, as well as three subsidiary companies, is currently under administration this follows several winding-up petitions filed against the company by HMRC. Back in February Solarplicity was briefly banned by Ofgem from taking on new customers, until it made service improvements. Ofgem did not confirm that order, but…
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Major UK banks will have checks in place to confirm the recipients of money transfers by 2020, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has said. The ‘Confirmation of Payee’ service will see lenders cross-reference names with sort codes and account numbers to ensure funds are being sent to the right recipient. The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR)…
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The finalists for the third annual Credit & Collections Technology Awards, the UK’s celebration of tech innovators in credit and collections, have been revealed. The Credit & Collections Technology Awards, organised by Credit Connect and hosted at the Credit Services Association’s UK Credit and Collections Conference, brings together credit and collections technology executives to honour the industry’s…
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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recommended protecting people who pay for their energy upfront for longer with an adjusted price cap. The prepayment price cap was put in place following the CMA’s energy market investigation to protect customers from high prices as a result of not being able to switch suppliers as easily…
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Two directors from the North-west have been banned for 16 years after lack of oversight led to a £7.6 million shortfall in monies being held for insolvent estates. Darren Varden of Bury, Lancashire, and Philip Nuttall, of Congleton, Cheshire, were directors of Varden Nuttall, a debt solutions provider based in Bury. Nuttall was an insolvency…
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Ofcom has fined mobile company Giffgaff £1.4 million, for overcharging millions of customers. The fine follows an Ofcom investigation. We found that an error in Giffgaff’s billing system led to around 2.6 million customers being overcharged up to a total of almost £2.9m. Giffgaff has already refunded around £2.1 million to affected customers. In lieu of…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has urged expansion of Credit Unions as an alternative to payday lenders as part of a new report. The new FCA report sets out actions and recommendations to improve the availability and awareness of alternatives to high-cost credit. The review suggests that high-cost credit is identified as significant harm to…
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A record number of entries have been reported for this year’s Credit and Collections Technology Awards, devised by Credit Connect and hosted by the Credit Services Association (CSA), as part of their annual conference and gala dinner. In total, 91 companies have entered the awards in 20 categories which include recognising best-in-class solutions across complex…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed it intends to extend the proposed duration of the directions issued under the temporary transitional power to the 31st December 2020. This is to reflect the extension of Article 50. Other than the additional time the FCA’s approach remains unchanged. The temporary transitional power is intended to minimise…
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The number of personal insolvencies (bankruptcies and protected trust deeds) in Scotland rose by 7% in April-June 2019 compared with the previous quarter (January-March 2019), and rose by 9% compared with the same quarter the previous year (April-June 2018) according to latest Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) statistics. The figures showed that there were 3,520 personal…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has launched a consultation on proposed guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. The guidance sets out the FCA’s view of what the FCA Principles require of firms to ensure that vulnerable consumers are consistently treated fairly across financial services sectors. The FCA wants to see doing…
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