BrightHouse appoints new Chief Executive

18th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

Rent-to-own provider BrightHouse has announced it has appointed Anth Mooney as its new Chief Executive. Mooney has previously worked at and Virgin Money. BrightHouse chairman, Stuart Deane, said “Anth Mooney was the standout candidate amongst an impressive list of applicants for the role. He is a financial services expert who has also managed national store…

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FCA reveals its priorities for 2019/20

17th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its Business Plan for 2019/20, which outlines the key priorities for the coming year. As the UK finalises preparations to leave the European Union, the immediate priority will remain supporting an orderly transition post-exit. The FCA will also continue to play a leading role in shaping the global…

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Petition claims abuse of power by banks

9th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

A petition demanding government action against High Street lenders has been started by the director of UK credit reference agency LendingMetrics. The petition – lodged this week, alleges that some clearing banks are systematically discriminating against start-ups by refusing to open business current accounts for them. Signatories claim there is a growing number of non-mainstream…

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WageDay Advance collapse to hit borrower’s claims

4th April 2019 Consumer Collections |

Hundreds of thousands of people who were mis-sold high-cost short term loans will receive a fraction of the compensation they are entitled to after WageDay Advance loans collapsed into administration last month. Customers are now receiving emails to explain how much they owe or are owed. However, now the company is in administration, those who…

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Claims management companies begin FCA regulation

2nd April 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has began regulating the claims management industry. All claims management companies (CMCs) in England, Scotland and Wales will now have to demonstrate they meet and maintain minimum standards set by the FCA. All existing and new CMCs will need to apply to the FCA for authorisation. More than 900 CMCs…

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Money Statistics: March 2019

27th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for March 2019: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.629 trillion at the end of January 2019. This is up from £1.579 trillion at the end of January 2018, an extra £952.50 per UK adult over the year. The average total debt per…

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Provident Financial makes group board appointments

25th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

Provident Financial has announced the appointment of Neil Chandler as Managing Director of Vanquis Bank. Chandler will join the Vanquis Bank board and will start as Managing Director on the 15th April 2019, subject to regulatory approvals. Chandler was until recently the Chief Executive Officer, Shop Direct Financial Services and a member of the Shop Direct…

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FCA announces preparation for senior manager regime roll-out

22nd March 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has reaffirmed the regulator’s focus on affordability, business models and culture in the consumer credit sector. Speaking in London this week, Jonathan Davidson, executive director of supervision – retail and authorisations at the FCA, noted that growth in the sector has slowed, increasing 6.5% over the last 12 months, according…

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Provident Financial announces profit turnaround

14th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

Provident Financial has published its full-year company (ending 31st December 2018) results which indicate that adjusted pre-tax profits increased, up 82% to £153.5m in 2018. Malcolm Le May, Provident’s group chief executive, said “Today’s results are testament to the immense progress that the Group has made over the past 18 months, having delivered adjusted profit…

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Wonga compensation claims rise

13th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

Wonga’s insolvency administrator Grant Thornton has said that complaints against failed lender Wonga rose to over 40,000. The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) told the Treasury Committee in January 2019 that at the point that Wonga went into administration in August 2018, there were ‘about 10,500’ consumers who had complaints open about the payday lender but…

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FCA confirms April introduction for rent-to-own price cap

5th March 2019 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed the introduction of a price cap to protect some of the most vulnerable customers in the UK in the rent-to-own (RTO) sector will be introduced from 1st April 2019 in a move which will save consumers in the UK up to £22.7 million a year. In the Policy Statement…

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Morses Club announces latest trading results

28th February 2019 Consumer Collections |

Credit provider, Morses Club has released it latest trading results for the last financial year. The company revealed that total credit issued increased by 2.4% to £178.5m compared with the prior year and that its gross loan book grew by over 7%, comprising a 5% increase in the core book and a 2% rise as…

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Number of workers turning to high-cost short term loans continues to rise

26th February 2019 Consumer Collections |

The number of UK workers turning to high-cost short term loans (payday loans) as they struggle to cover their living costs and make ends meet continues to rise. Using data collected from over 700,000 payday loans requested between January 2017 and December  2018, credit broker CashLady has gathered together an in-depth analysis of the average…

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