Credit, collections & insolvency news
The Government is been warned about the impact of benefit cuts and their knock-on impact on renters. Bodies such as Nationwide, the Mortgage Works, Crisis, the Big Issue, the NRLA and StepChange, have urged the Government to reverse the decision to freeze local housing allowance and cut the temporary £20-a-week rise to universal credit. The…
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The TUC is calling on the government to establish a permanent short-time working scheme as ‘a post-pandemic legacy’ to help protect working people through periods of future economic change. The trad reunion says the furlough scheme, while far from perfect, is one of the major successes of government policy during the pandemic, protecting millions of…
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Over two in five vulnerable customers feel that they have been unfairly treated by organisations in the last 12 months according to new research Vulnerability Registration Service (VRS), The findings in the research suggest that 17.7 million consumers consider themselves vulnerable with 34% of the UK population, with 13.1 million (25%) people saying they have…
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Energy regulator Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap will increase from 1st October for the 15 million customers it protects. Those on default tariffs paying by direct debit will see an increase of £139 from £1,138 to £1277. Prepayment customers will see an increase of £153 from £1,156 to £1309. The regulator says…
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Over a quarter (27%) of household bill-payers say an increase of more than £10 a month in their energy bills could force them into debt. The research by USwitch.com is just days ahead of an expected hike in the price cap which will be announced by the energy regulator, Ofgem, which is due to announce…
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The number of debt judgments registered against Northern Ireland consumers in the first half of 2021 (H1 2021) was 1,678, a fall of nearly 12 per cent from the 1,900 in the same period last year, according to figures released by Registry Trust. But, the total value of judgment debt owed by consumers rose by…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for July 2021 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,721.3 billion at the end of May 2021. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £61,933 and per adult was £32,544, around 108.7% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
Read moreNearly one in three people are retiring in debt this year with an average £20,650 to pay off, new research by equity release adviser Key, has indicated. People expecting to retire this year are facing debts around a fifth higher than those who finished work last year the study shows – although the number of…
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A new report from the Centre for Social Justice has unveiled a partnership between bailiff firms and debt advice charities to help people in ‘severe’ debt, which is a third higher than before the pandemic began, The bold plans to strengthen protections for households facing a post-pandemic tidal wave of debt have been brokered by…
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The Government has revealed proposals to trial automatic switching for customers on expensive default energy tariffs to cheaper deals, and government to tackle ‘loyalty penalty’. Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng published proposals to trial automatic switching for customers on expensive default energy tariffs to cheaper deals. Research has shown that while around 5.8 million…
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New research has found that 840,000 private renters have built up arrears as a result of the Covid pandemic meaning 56% of landlords have lost rental income. The research by Homeppl also found that there was also 71% rise in fraudulent applications, one in 50 are now fraudulent and that fraudulent tenants now costing landlords…
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Credit Connect’s hosted the latest edition of the Connected News series last week which saw a discussion focused on the delivery of responsible vulnerable communications strategies and the future of the sector discussed by four leading collections professionals. Banks, credit card providers, building societies, loan providers, collections specialists, utility firms and fintechs were amongst the…
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Over seven million people (14%) are worried that they will not be able to afford their council tax bills over the next year, according to new research from the Money Advice Trust. Findings from the charity’s ‘Council Tax After Covid’ report have highlighted that some vulnerable groups are most at risk of falling behind on…
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