Paperless billing ‘hassle’ for a third of consumers

20th March 2018 Consumer Collections |

Research by GoCompare finds that 80% of UK consumers now receive at least one financial service and utility bill or statement electronically 4 out of 5 (80%) UK consumers now receive at least one paperless bill or statement for a financial product or utility, new research from GoCompare has found. However, the result for many…

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Money Statistics: March 2018

20th March 2018 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for March 2018: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.576 trillion at the end of January 2018. This is up from £1.52 trillion at the end of January 2017– an extra £1,077.51 per UK adult. Per adult in the UK that’s an average debt…

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CSA to host industry technology awards at UKCCC

19th March 2018 Consumer Collections |

The Credit Services Association (CSA), the voice of the UK debt collection and debt purchase sectors, is to host the Credit and Collections Technology Awards at this year’s CSA Gala Dinner on 13 September. The co-branded event, which will form part of the CSA’s UK Credit and Collections Conference (UKCCC), reflects the Association’s growing recognition…

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Finance industry prevents £1.4bn in fraud

15th March 2018 Consumer Collections |

Banks and card companies prevented £1,458.6 million in unauthorised financial fraud last year, equivalent to £2 in every £3 of attempted unauthorised fraud being stopped, the latest data from UK Finance shows. In 2017, fraud losses on payment cards fell 8 per cent year-on-year to £566.0 million. At the same time, card spending increased by…

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Consumer CCJs hit record high in 2017

12th March 2018 Consumer Collections |

There were more County Court Judgments (CCJs) against consumers in England and Wales during 2017 than any other year since current records began in 2005, according to figures released today by Registry Trust.  In 2017, 1,138,058 judgments were registered against consumers in England and Wales. Rising almost a quarter on 2016, the total number of…

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Tesco cancels credit cards after fraud concerns

9th March 2018 Consumer Collections |

Tesco Bank has cancelled some of its customers’ credit cards, after concerns that a number of accounts may have been compromised. The bank said that only a tiny number of its three million credit card users would be affected, and apologised for the inconvenience. A Tesco Bank spokesman said “We take the security of our customers’ accounts…

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Call for common Code of Practice for all consumer collections

2nd March 2018 Consumer Collections |

Peter Wallwork, Chief Executive of the Credit Services Association (CSA) has again called for the adoption of a Code of Practice as the de facto best practice ‘standard’ across all sectors and organisations collecting consumer debts. Whereas agencies collecting financial services debts are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and adhere to the CSA Code,…

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Consumer credit grows by 9.3%

2nd March 2018 Arrears and Recoveries |

The Bank of England has today published its latest monthly Money and Credit report showing growth in consumer credit of 9.3 percent in the year to January 2018. Outstanding balances for consumer credit now stand at over £207.5 billion. Commenting on the latest figures Money Advice Trust Joanna Elson OBE, Chief Executive said “Whilst the…

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Payment Systems Regulator announces plans to protect payment scam victims

1st March 2018 Consumer Collections |

The Payment Systems Regulator has announced the outcome of its consultation on introducing a contingent reimbursement model for victims of authorised push payment (APP) scams. An industry code will be in place by September 2018, paving the way for victims of APP scams to have better protection. The consultation, which ran from November 2017 to January 2018,…

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Provident Financial confirms £300m rights issue

28th February 2018 Consumer Collections |

Provident Financial has confirmed it is looking to raise around £300m to shore up its finances and meet the costs of FCA investigations into its credit card and car finance arms. As part of its latest company results Provident said its Moneybarn division continues to cooperate with the FCA in its ongoing investigation into affordability,…

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FCA announces new credit card rules

27th February 2018 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has today published its final policy statement on new rules for the credit card market. The FCA estimates the changes will save consumers between £310 million and £1.3 billion a year in lower interest charges. The new rules come into force on 1 March 2018, but firms have until 1…

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FCA fines Vanquis £1.9m

27th February 2018 Consumer Collections |

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that it has imposed a fine of £1,976,000 on credit card lender, Vanquis, for failing to disclose the full price of an add-on product, called Repayment Option Plan (ROP).  The firm will also repay an estimated £168,781,000 in compensation which constitutes the amount of the charges not disclosed…

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Card spending rises by 5.8%

26th February 2018 Consumer Collections |

UK Finance has published its latest lending figures for 2018 that spending on cards was 5.8 percent cent higher than in January 2017, although higher repayment levels meant that the pace of borrowing saw little change, growing at 4.8 per cent annually. Commenting on the data, Eric Leenders, Managing Director, Personal Finance at UK Finance said: “January…

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