Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
One in five (3.4 million) people aged 50-69 and one in twelve of over 70s (670,000) in the UK have had to borrow more money or use more credit than usual in the last month compared to a year ago, new research by Age UK has found. The analysis showed that 1.3 million over 50s have a…
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The number of households struggling with heavy debt has increased by two thirds since 2017, according to charity Debt Justice. The report shows that around 12.8 million adults in the UK are falling behind on bills or finding repayments a struggle. The Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives survey found that 7.7 million adults in the…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has made rulebook changes in an effort to grant households relief from rising mortgage rates. Lenders will be able to offer borrowers a switch to interest-only payments for six months. They will also be able to offer an extension to mortgage terms to reduce monthly payments, with borrowers given the…
Read moreChancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt agreed a new action plan with regulators to try to ensure consumers are being treated fairly and help those struggling to make payments. As part of the government’s plan to halve inflation this year, the Chancellor chaired a roundtable with CEOs from the Competition and Market Authority (CMA), Financial…
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Latest analysis of credit card data from FICO has painted a picture of considerable consumer financial volatility as the dual pressures of higher inflation and higher interest rates squeeze funds. FICO says the ongoing inflationary challenges faced by consumers continue to be reflected in higher levels of credit card spend, compared to 2022 – with…
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5.7 million low-income households are having to cut down or skip meals because they don’t have enough money for food, while the number going without items such as food, heating or basic toiletries (63%) has remained around 7 million for more than a year according to latest analysis by Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF). The research…
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In a new report published on Government’s energy bills support scheme, the Public Accounts Committee says it took too long to get support to some of those most in need. While support schemes were introduced quickly, the Government did not have the bandwidth to make sure support reached all groups in a timely fashion. In…
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Domestic energy supplier E.ON Next has been ordered by Ofgem to pay £5 million in compensation for poor standards of customer service. Throughout 2022, energy regulator Ofgem conducted a series of Market Compliance Reviews (MCRs), examining energy suppliers’ performance on key areas across the sector in a bid to drive up standards. One of these…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) have shown that second charge mortgage new business volumes fell by 22% in April 2023 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),…
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An estimated 5.5 million people (one in ten adults) were behind on their energy bills in April, an increase of 2.1 million compared to March 2022 according to new research from the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline. The charity’s Under Pressure research, based on an Opinium survey…
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Energy retailers have been urged to simplify the language used in consumer communications after a survey found the majority of customers (76%) are confused by their bill. Consumer group Which?’s research found almost half (48%) of all consumers said they experience a negative emotional response when reading their bills. The research that almost half (47%)…
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Cost of living pressures have affected UK consumers more than their European counterparts, according to the latest EY UK Future Consumer Index. The twelfth edition of EY’s survey of 1,000 UK consumers found that 62% of UK consumers say they are ‘extremely concerned’ by the cost-of-living squeeze, compared with 50% in the rest of Europe.…
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Households have faced more than a year of high inflation and rising interest rates and the impact of both is becoming more apparent according to new UK Finance data. The research found that squeezed budgets and higher financing costs are bearing down more heavily on affordability for prospective house buyers. The same pressures are, as…
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