Consumer finance new business increases by 11% in May

9th July 2018 Consumer Collections |

Latest figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business in May grew by 11%, compared with the same month last year. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew by 11% in May, while retail store and online credit new business increased by 8%. Second charge mortgage…

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Consumers spend £23.8m on interest fees on World Cup gambling

6th July 2018 Consumer Collections |

New research by credit experts TotallyMoney suggests consumers will pay an estimated £23.8 million solely on interest and transaction fees from using credit cards to gamble on 2018’s World Cup. Credit card payments used for gambling are treated by lenders as a cash advance. This usually means the borrower is charged a transaction fee, a…

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Unsecured debt amongst 55-74 year olds has risen by a third

5th July 2018 Consumer Collections |

New research from equity release lender More 2 life has revealed that unsecured debt amongst 55 to 74-year-olds has risen by more than a third (+34%) over the last four years – or more than twice as fast as the national average (+14%). While 34% of over 55s have some form of unsecured debt, it…

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FCA proposes financial services workers directory

4th July 2018 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today proposed a new Directory to help consumers and firms check the status and history of individuals working in financial services. The Directory will include all those who hold Senior Manager positions requiring FCA approval and those whose roles require firms to certify that they are fit and proper.…

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Consumers hide £69bn of debt

4th July 2018 Consumer Collections |

New research from Direct Line Life Insurance reveals consumers are hiding over £69bn of debt from their partners. People are completely in the dark over their loved ones’ finances, with 8.3 million (16 per cent) of consumers having debts their partner knows nothing about. The average debt hidden from a partner in the UK is £8,293,…

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Quarter of credit card searches are for credit builder cards

4th July 2018 Consumer Collections |

Nearly a quarter of all credit card searches carried out through Experian are for credit builder cards, new analysis from its first Credit Search Barometer has revealed. These cards give those with “thin” credit files or those with low credit scores the chance to get on track and gradually improve their creditworthiness by showing they…

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Cheque and Credit Clearing Company becomes subsidiary of NPSO

3rd July 2018 Consumer Collections |

The New Payment System Operator (NSPO) has taken over the oversight for running and managing the cheque paper and cheque image clearing systems with the Cheque and Credit Clearing becoming a subsidiary of the NPSO. All payments will continue to be processed as usual through the paper clearing system for cheques and the recently launched Image…

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Ticketmaster discloses payment card data breach

2nd July 2018 Consumer Collections |

Ticket sales and distribution company, Ticketmaster has revealed it has suffered a major data breach in which tens of thousands of people had their card details stolen. The breach has compromised payment card and personal information of customers who made purchases on its UK website. According to the company, the breach was carried out through malicious…

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Consumer credit growth rate slows in May

29th June 2018 Consumer Collections |

The Bank of England has published its latest banking statistics which show that consumer credit growth rates continued to slow in May, but remains rapid relative to 2009-12. Although net lending fell slightly on the month, at £1.4 billion, it was in line with the average amount borrowed monthly over the past year. The decrease…

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FCA proposes changes to push payment complaint handling rules

27th June 2018 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Coduct Authority (FCA) has announced proposed changes to complaint handling rules to help victims of authorised push payment fraud Authorised push payment (APP) fraud is where a fraudster tricks an individual consumer or micro business to instruct their payment services provider (PSP), such as their bank, to send money from their account to an…

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Banks start to take steps to curb unarranged overdraft fees

27th June 2018 Consumer Collections |

New research by Moneyfacts.co.uk reveals that over the past 12 months the average unarranged overdraft fee has fallen from £53.61 to £39.23. Last year, NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland made efforts to reduce fees on some accounts, and in November, Lloyds Bank decided to scrap both its £6 per month usage fee and £5…

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Credit Card debt continues to grow

26th June 2018 Consumer Collections |

UK Finance has announced its latest household finance update for May 2018. The highlights from the report include: Credit card spending was 2.3 per cent higher in May than a year earlier, with outstanding levels of card borrowing having grown by 5.7 per cent over the year. The total of 193 million credit card purchases…

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Credit card debt and the cost of borrowing are on the rise

21st June 2018 Consumer Collections |

Credit cards are getting more expensive according to new data released by Moneyfacts which revealed that credit card borrowing is rising by around £3 billion year-on-year and £318 million of debt on plastic was written off in the first quarter of 2018. The report says that it is more likely than not that interest rates…

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