TUC sounds alarm over rising household debt level

31st March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Commenting on figures published by the ONS today (Friday), which shows that unsecured borrowing is at its highest level (as a share of household income) in 8 years, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “Today’s figures should set alarm bells ringing.  The last thing our economy needs right now is another consumer debt crisis. But…

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Financial fraud amounts to loss of £768.8 million

30th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Financial fraud losses across payment cards, remote banking and cheques totalled £768.8 million in 2016, an increase of 2 per cent on the previous year, figures from Financial Fraud Action UK show. The new data shows banks and card companies prevented £1.38 billion of fraud last year, equivalent to £6.40 in every £10 of attempted…

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Card spending up by £5 billion year on year

20th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The UK Card Payments Association has releases the latest card expenditure statistics for January 2017. Highlights include: Payment card spending in January 2017 was £57.1 billion, up by £0.5 billion (0.8 per cent) on December pending was up by £5 billion year on year The number of purchases reached a new monthly record of 1.3 billion…

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Capital One announces new head of UK Business

14th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Capital One Financial Corporation has announced the appointment of Amy Lenander as UK CEO.  Lenander will be responsible for the overall strategic direction and general management of the UK credit card portfolio, replacing Chris Newkirk who has recently been appointed President of International and Small Business Card at Capital One. Since joining Capital One as…

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March 2017: Money Statistics

14th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for March 2017: Personal debt in the UK The average total debt per household – including mortgages – was £56,310 in January. The revised figure for December was £56,148. Based on January 2017 trends, the UK’s total interest repayments on personal debt over a 12…

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Consumer finance rises by 10% in January

10th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

New figures released today by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show growth of 10% in consumer finance new business in January, compared with the same month in 2016. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew by 11% compared with January 2016, while retail store and online credit new business increased by 1%.…

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Report: Household debt – statistics and impact on economy

6th March 2017 Consumer Collections |

The government has published a report on Household debt. The report includes the latest statistics and forecasts for household debt in the UK and international comparisons. There is also a guide explaining how to understand and interpret household debt statistics and a summary of research looking at its effects on the economy. In the report…

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Consumers spent £647 billion using payment cards in 2016

2nd March 2017 Consumer Collections |

Consumers spent £647 billion using payment cards in 2016, new figures fromThe UK Cards Association show. There were 14.8 billion card transactions in 2016, equivalent to 40.5 million transactions a day or 469 a second, data from The UK Cards Association shows. Three-quarters of retail spending (76.4 per cent) was on payment cards. Retail spending on…

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Consumer borrowing grows by 6.7%

24th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

The British Banking Association’s (BBA) latest high street banking data shows that consumer borrowing through overdrafts, loans and credit cards grew at an annual rate of 6.7%. Other findings include: Gross mortgage borrowing totalled £13.8 billion in January, 6.3% higher than the same period last year Re-mortgaging approvals in January were 15.7% higher than January…

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Three Quarters of students struggling under debt-stress

23rd February 2017 Consumer Collections |

New research from Intelligent Environments has found an overwhelming majority of University students are feeling the stress created by their financial situation. Three quarters of students polled that receive a maintenance loan feel stressed about the amount of debt they are accumulating while studying, the effects of which are wide reaching. 39% said their debt has…

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Continued growth in consumer finance in 2016

10th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

The latest figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show growth of 9% in consumer finance new business in 2016. New business in December grew by 2% compared with the same month in 2015. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew by 8% in 2016, while retail store and online credit…

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Prepayment meter cap should stop poorest households paying over the odds

7th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

Ofgem has announced the levels of the prepayment price cap which come into effect this April. The temporary price cap is one of the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) remedies resulting from its two year investigation of the energy market. The cap will initially apply to over four million households who prepay for their energy, mostly with…

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Wonga strikes £60m deal to sell BillPay to Klarna

6th February 2017 Consumer Collections |

Wonga will confirm that it has decided to offload BillPay, one of its most valuable units, to Klarna, a Swedish provider of e-commerce solutions according to Sky News. Klarna operates in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. The deal will take place this week and will be worth about £60 million. Talks between Wonga and…

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