Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Bailiffs are not being held to account when they break the rules because the complaints system is complicated and intimidating, according to new research from Citizens Advice. Figures obtained by Citizens Advice from the Ministry of Justice show just 56 complaints were made through a court-based process introduced as part of the bailiff reforms in…
Read more
Economy Energy, an energy supplier with about 235,000 domestic customers, has ceased to trade, this follows last week’s news that it had been by banned by Ofgem from taking new customers. Under Ofgem’s safety net, the energy supply of Economy Energy’s customers will continue and prepayment meters can be topped up as normal. The outstanding credit…
Read more
The Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) secured £930,000 in financial redress for consumers as complaints made to it about water companies and retailers rose. Almost 5,200 homes and businesses turned to the CCWater for help with a complaint during the first six months of the year, a rise of 14 percent compared to the same period last…
Read more
Ofgem has banned Economy Energy from taking on new customers until it resolves its customer service issues. The provisional order against the supplier also bans it from requesting one-off payments and increasing direct debits. The ban will initially remain in place for up to three months in order for Economy Energy to take steps to:…
Read more
UK Finance, the trade organisation representing the banking and finance industry operating in the UK, has announced the appointment of Bank of Ireland’s Richard Rowntree as the new chair of its Mortgages Product and Service. He will replace outgoing Chair Miguel Sard, Managing Director of Mortgages at Santander, in January 2019. The UK Finance Mortgages…
Read moreThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has banned Darren Newton from working in the financial services sector. The FCA discovered Newton used customers’ money for the purchase of the debt management firm, First Step Finance Limited. This showed a serious lack of honesty and integrity. The FCA has decided that he is not a fit and…
Read more
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced a package of reforms to tackle the substantial loyalty penalty impacting millions of people. The CMA has investigated concerns raised by Citizens Advice in a ‘super-complaint’, that companies penalise existing customers by charging them higher prices than new customers. The CMA has looked at the 5 markets…
Read more
The Justice Committee has launcheed an inquiry into the enforcement of debt by bailiffs (also known as enforcement agents) in England and Wales. The Committee’s inquiry will run alongside an Ministry of Justice (MOJ) consultation and will focus on High Court and Civil Enforcement Officers, who collect debts such as Council Tax, parking fines and utility…
Read more
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced a package of reforms to tackle the substantial loyalty penalty impacting millions of people. The CMA has investigated concerns raised by Citizens Advice in a ‘super-complaint’, that companies penalise existing customers by charging them higher prices than new customers. The CMA has looked at the 5 markets…
Read more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Santander £32,817,800 for failing to effectively process the accounts and investments of deceased customers. The FCA found thatSantander did not transfer funds totalling over £183m to beneficiaries when it should have done. 40,428 customers were directly affected. Santander also failed to disclose information relating to the issues with…
Read moreThe Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) decision to ban unarranged overdraft fees could help thousands of people from staying stuck in debt, Citizens Advice says. The national charity also says the proposed crackdown on the way interest is charged on “buy now pay later deals” will help the thousands of consumers who are rocked by these…
Read more
UK Finance has announced the appointment of Charlotte Crosswell, CEO, Innovate Finance, and Mark Parsons, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director, Coventry Building Society, to its Board. Charlotte Crosswell is CEO of Innovate Finance, the industry body representing the UK FinTech sector. She has spent most of her financial services career in market infrastructure roles. She has…
Read moreThe Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced the next package of measures forming part of its high-cost credit review. It has announced proposals to change how banks charge for overdrafts, which would bring to an end to banks charging higher prices for unarranged overdrafts which ammounted to over £2.4 billion for banks last year alone. The FCA…
Read more