Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New data from StepChange Debt Charity shows that the cost of living pressure continues to rise for financially stretched households, as it was the third most commonly cited reason for debt in March, up from the fourth most common in February and the sixth most common in 2021. While 6% of StepChange clients in 2021…
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Western Power Distribution (WPD), the largest electricity distribution network operator in the UK, has agreed to make a voluntary redress payment of £14.9 million after accepting it failed to meet its obligations to provide information to some of its most vulnerable customers. Network companies are required to provide additional services to households in vulnerable circumstances who are…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for Apri, 2022 Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1,773.2 billion at the end of February 2022. The average total debt per household, including mortgages, was £63,803 and per adult was £33,526, around 107.9% of average earnings. Net mortgage lending rose by…
Read moreThe amount of money that households collectively owe to their energy suppliers has doubled in the past year to reach £1 billion, with a quarter (23%) of consumers now in energy debt, according to new research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service. The number of households in debt to their supplier has risen by…
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Average UK rents have increased for the sixth consecutive quarter, according to The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS). The research also showed that some tenants are paying above the going rate to secure a property. The UK’s largest protector of deposits, which safeguards 1.8m rent securities, says that average rents now stand at £849 a…
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More than 200,000 private renters in England have been served eviction notices without doing anything wrong in the three years since the government first promised to ban the practice according to research by Shelter. The research found that every seven minutes a private renter in England is handed a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice by…
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The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its latest cost of living statistics finding that one in four (23%) adults find it difficult to pay household bills in the last month, compared with a year ago. The research also found that nine in ten (87%) adults reported an increase in their cost of living…
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Household saving is expected to fall by 71% year-on-year to an average of £26 a week in the second quarter of 2022, as inflationary pressures drastically reduce families’ ability to save. A new study by Scottish Friendly and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) estimates households would need to earn an extra £80…
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Real average weekly pay packets fell by 1.3 per cent in February, with a far deeper squeeze coming in the months ahead, despite the jobs market continuing to tighten and last year’s furlough flattering the headline pay data, the Resolution Foundation says in response to the latest ONS labour market statistics. The UK jobs market…
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The new level of state pension payments which has come into effect today will see the full new state pension rise to £185.15 from £179.60 a week. The basic state pension full amount has risen from £137.60 to £141.85 – a rise of 3.1%, compared with a current inflation rate of 6.2%. That’s an extra…
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More than a third of customers (34%) struggle to pay bills fairly frequently, yet only 4% of billcpayers reported receiving financial help from their water company over the past year according to research by Ofwat and CCW. The research also highlighted that engagement with water companies was found to be fairly low, with 44% of…
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StepChange Debt Charity’s 2021 Statistics Yearbook, has shown that even before the latest rise in general inflation and the rise in the energy price cap, households in the UK experiencing problem debt were already facing a cost of living crisis. In 2021, StepChange was contacted by almost half a million (483,247) new clients seeking debt…
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Citizens Advice has announced that, for the third month in a row, it has broken record for providing crisis support as the cost of living impact takes hold. In March 2022, the charity referred 24,752 people to food banks or to other charitable support, up by 44% compared to the same time last year. Research…
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