Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
More than two million households say they won’t turn on their heating this winter, an increase of a fifth (22%) compared with last year, according to new research from Uswitch. People who live alone are most likely to take drastic action, with one in ten solitary dwellers (10%) avoiding using the heating altogether. While households…
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The scale of Britain’s living standards slowdown over the past 20 years is so large that a typical family today would be £20,000 richer had incomes continued at the rate of growth trending in 2005 according to the Resolution Foundation. Policies that the Resolution Foundation has designed and championed have put more money in people’s…
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Headline CPI inflation held steady at 3.8 per cent in August, ending a run of disappointing increases, as a downward contribution from air fares was offset by increases in hospitality and petrol. There were encouraging signs for policy makers under the bonnet as the closely watched core inflation fell from 3.8 per cent in July…
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Over half (54%) of pensioners on a low income find it a struggle to keep up with bills and credit commitments, causing misery and worry to hundreds of thousands of retirees. The findings are revealed in new research by the Living Wage Foundation based on polling of pensioners who are on a low income. The…
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The number of customers falling behind on their electricity bills with no repayment plan in place has more than tripled from 300,000 in 2012 to over one million at the end of 2024, with the number of customers falling behind on their gas bill also tripling from 300,000 to 900,000 over this period according to…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that second charge mortgage new business volumes grew by 15% in July 2025. Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Director of Consumer & Mortgage Finance and Inclusion at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said…
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Working parents’ confidence in the future UK economy and their future and current household finances has plummeted ahead of the start of the new school year according to Which?’s latest consumer insight tracker. In the month to 13th August, working age parents’ confidence in the future UK economy fell dramatically by 25 points from a…
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Latest Bank of England data have shown that net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals rose slightly to £1.6 billion, from £1.5 billion in the previous month. Within this, net borrowing through credit cards slightly increased to £0.8 billion in July, from £0.7 billion in June. Net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit increased…
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Latest Office of National Statistics (ONS) data has shown that household cost inflation was 3.9% in the year to June – up from 2.7% in the year to March. Lower earners were hit harder than higher earners – those in the second decile saw inflation of 4.1% and those in the ninth saw 3.8%, it…
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Gas and electricity prices will rise by 2% for millions of households under the latest cap announced by energy regulator Ofgem. The energy price cap will rise by £35 per year for a typical household from October. While the rise is small, it underscores the fact that energy costs remain stubbornly high. With energy debt…
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CPI inflation jumped 0.2 percentage points to reach 3.8 per cent in July. Worryingly, the rise was driven by the higher cost of essentials with faster price rises for energy (rising from 4.5 per cent in June to 8 per cent in July), petrol (up by 2p per litre in July) and food (4.5 per…
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Latest monthly figures from the Insolvency Service for England & Wales have indicated that personal insolvency figures rose slightly in July when compared to last month and to July 2024. Personal insolvencies increased by 1.8% in July 2025 to a total of 10,515 compared to June 2025’s total of 10,328, and slightly increased by 0.3%…
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Average energy arrears among people seeking debt advice from StepChange Scotland have surged by 42% year on year, leaping from £2,464 in the first half of 2024 to £3,499 in the first half of 2025. This sharp increase raises serious concerns about the ability of households to heat their homes this winter while repaying built…
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