Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Business Secretary has Greg Clark confirmed new appointments to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). Martin Coleman joins as Inquiry Chair and Panel Chair. As 1 of 4 Inquiry Chairs, he will be responsible for chairing groups of CMA panel members making decisions on Phase 2 merger inquiries, market investigations and regulatory appeals. The Panel Chair supports the effective…
Read moreOfcom has set out proposals to ensure fairer, more transparent prices for mobile customers who pay for handsets and airtime within the same contract. The regulator says that buying a handset with a mobile contract is a popular way for people to receive a new phone, as it allows them to spread the cost over many months.…
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Energy regulator, Ofgem has opened compliance cases into First Utility, Ovo Energy and Utilita over their poor handling of customer complaints after carrying out its biyearly complaints handling survey. The energy regulator is also expanding recent compliance engagement on complaints handling performance with ScottishPower through a compliance case which includes the results of the survey.…
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Ofgem has ordered npower to co-operate in its next trial of a simplified collective switch which could help thousands of the supplier’s customers save hundreds of pounds by switching to a better deal. Suppliers are required to allow their customers to take part in Ofgem’s programme of trials which are testing the best ways to…
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Initial details of a new procurement process for the clearing and settlement layer that will form the backbone of the New Payments Architecture (NPA) have been announced by the New Payment System Operator (NPSO). The NPA is a new conceptual model for payments in the UK, which will take over the processing of more than…
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The FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) has named six firms that defaulted in August. The FSCS is the UK’s statutory compensation scheme that protects customers of regulated financial services firms. The six firms are: Cain Lambert Limited formerly known PAR Capital Mortgages Limited, 44 St. Edmunds Road, London, N9 7PT MML Administration Limited, 9 Portland Square, Bristol,…
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The Labour Party has published its response to a review into problem gambling and its treatment that has been undertaken over the last year. Tom Watson MP and Jonathan Ashworth MP have spent a year consulting with gambling addiction specialists, charities, industry bodies and those suffering from gambling problems, to look at whether existing gambling regulation…
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Three water companies have been warned to improve their customer service as a new report by the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) reveals households made more than 2.1 million calls to resolve problems last year. The annual complaints report by the Water Watchdog shows that nine out of 21 water companies in England and Wales…
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The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued credit reference agency Equifax with a £500,000 fine for failing to protect the personal information of up to 15 million UK citizens during a cyber attack in 2017. The incident, which happened between 13 May and 30 July 2017 in the US, affected 146 million customers globally. The…
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Green Star Energy has paid compensation for mis-selling to 8,815 customers who were offered only Green Star Energy tariffs when visiting a bespoke page on the price comparison website Utility Discount, which was accessible only via an online advert. Green Star Energy has also paid additional money to Ofgem’s consumer redress fund after it failed…
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Qualco UK has retained its ISO 27001:2017 certification by The British Assessment Bureau, having first achieved it three years ago. ISO 27001 is the internationally recognised framework which helps organisations manage and protect their information assets so that they remain safe and secure at all times. By achieving this certification, Qualco has demonstrated its commitment…
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The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) has announced it has had to suspend its Transforming Compliance and Enforcement Programme (TCEP) enforcing court orders and collecting historic criminal debt will continue unchanged after further upgrades to the service, including systems and technology, were put on hold. The plans are no longer affordable within the Ministry of Justice’s…
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Introducing ‘Open Banking’ style measures to the energy market would make it easier for small businesses to switch providers and access cheaper tariffs, according to new proposals by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Open Energy: Using data to create a smarter, cheaper and fairer energy market, commissioned by FSB and produced by Fingleton Associates,…
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