Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New YouGov polling by StepChange Debt Charity has revealed the state of household finances over a year into the cost of living crisis, with people imminently facing higher council tax, less support with energy bills and increased rent or mortgage payments. StepCange says that the survey examines the toll that the cost of living crisis…
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Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has announced the Spring budget for 2023. Commenting on budget, Credit Services Association (CSA) Chief Executive Chris Leslie said: “For the collections sector, Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget has greatest relevance in its impact on the surplus money people have at their disposal and the cost-of-living squeeze that may affect an individual’s ability…
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Millions of households will get more support with high energy bills to help ease the cost of living, the Chancellor has announced ahead of the Spring Budget. The Energy Price Guarantee (EPG) will be kept at £2,500 for an additional three months from April to June, saving a typical household £160. Energy prices are 50%…
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Citizens Advice is calling on the government to introduce an energy social tariff by 2024. The charity believes targeted financial support in the form of a social tariff is the long-term solution to millions of people spending excessive amounts on their bills, both now and during what could be a decade of record prices ahead.…
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Age UK is leading calls for a pre-payment meter (PPM) amnesty amid concerns that forced installations are leading to vulnerable older people ‘self-disconnecting.’ The research shows that well over half a million older households one in four of pre-payment meter customers are now dependent on this form of pricier, pay-as-you-go energy Older households account for…
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One in seven people have skipped meals due to the rising cost of living, new Which? research has found. According to the latest findings from Which?’s Consumer Insight Tracker, a number of households are going without food and sitting in cold homes due to the rising cost of living. One in seven (15%) said they…
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A new survey of homeowners who pay a mortgage, conducted by independent market research firm Danebury Research on behalf of global technology specialist Dye & Durham, fas found that the ongoing cost of living crisis is affecting the mental health of more than half (56%) of UK mortgage holders who have genuine concerns over their…
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Credit Connect’s hosted its sixth Online Collections Technology Think Tank 4.1 last week which saw collections strategies and the impact of cost of living economic stresses discussed by thirteen collections professionals from a variety of industry sectors. The themes of collections risk, customer engagement, affordability and the future of collections were discussed by panelists and…
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New data from specialist lender Hodge shows a significant increase in the number of its 50+ customers taking out a mortgage for debt consolidation in January this year compared with January 2022. The data shows that in January 2023, 18% of customers said they were using the loan for debt consolidation, compared with just 2.13%…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap will be set at an annual level of £3,280 for a dual fuel household paying by direct debit based on typical consumption, a reduction of almost £1,000 from the current level, of £4,279 which reflects recent falls in wholesale energy prices. The cost of universal…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for February 2023 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,832.8 billion at the end of December 2022. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £65,946 and per adult was £34,653, around 105.7% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
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New data from Macmillan Cancer Support shows that tens of thousands of people going through or recovering from cancer treatment in the UK (16%) have had to sell personal possessions or borrow money just to make ends meet. The research also found that almost one in three (31%) are struggling to pay their basic living…
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Poorer households are hit harder than wealthy households when it comes to rising energy costs according to new research by Interactive Investor. When factored into the other key areas of household expenditure, including food, housing costs (rent or mortgage) and transport, the research calculated that the poorest 10% of households face spending 26% of their…
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