Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A new report, released by The Money Charity has shown that Financial Education delivered using Active Learning Methods (ALMs), leads to big improvements in young people’s financial understanding. With the UK’s pupils returning to school this week, the charity is calling for more support in getting this vital subject the prominent and prioritised place on…
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Young people whose job prospects have been impacted by the pandemic are being targeted online by criminals looking to recruit money mules to launder the profits of their crimes, UK Finance and Cifas have warned. The latest research from Cifas has revealed there were 17,157 cases of suspected money muling activity involving 21-30 year olds…
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Older women are one and a half times as likely to have seen their financial and mental health decline during the pandemic than men according to research by SunLife. The company’s report ‘Exploring the impact of the pandemic on Over 50s’ also found that older women are more likely than men to have seen their…
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People living in Kingston upon Thames (KT) have the highest average credit scores in the country, according to analysis price comparison site MoneySuperMarket. The company’s Credit Monitor analysis of over 200,000 credit reports revealed that those with a KT postcode have the highest average credit score at 586 out of a possible 710 points, 17…
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Technology firm, Exizent has announced a pilot project with Scottish Building Society to help families navigate legal and financial processes when an account holder passes away The new system aims to simplify the entire journey, from notice that a customer has died, to identifying their accounts, releasing any funds held, and closing the case. The…
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Furlough and forbearance appear to be masking the true impact of the pandemic, which may well lull politicians and lenders into a false sense of security according to software provider FICO. The company’s analysis of UK card trends for January 2021 has highlighted a mixed and perhaps confusing picture of UK consumer finances. The company’s…
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Latest date from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has shown that guarantor loans were the most complained-about product during the three months period between October to December 2020. The new figures mean that Guarantor loans have overtaken Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) as the most complained about product that the Financial Ombudsman Service adjudicates on. Complaints…
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Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced the extension of several Covid-19 support schemes until the end of September, including the furlough scheme, self-employed income and an extension of the universal credit uplift as part of his budget announcement. In response to the budget debt charity StepChange says that the budget announcement extends much-needed support for people…
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The number of households experiencing problem debt could rise to 1.5 million by the middle of the year, the highest level since the period following the global financial crisis and an increase of 370,000–480,000 since the start of the pandemic, according to research published by Pro Bono Economics for Citizens Advice. The report also suggests…
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Latest Bank of England data released shows that households paid back £2.4 billion of borrowing on credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts in the first month of 2021. The total amount outstanding on credit cards and loans shrank to £199.4 billion, falling below £200billion for the first time since April 2017. Consumer borrowing fell at…
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The Government has announced that it has completed the £5 billion pound sale of the final chunk of its ‘bad bank’ comprising failed lenders Bradford & Bingley (B&B) and Northern Rock (NRAM0. The Government says that the final sale constitutes a significant milestone in the work to achieve the government’s objective of returning the institutions…
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Branch staff at banks, building societies and Post Offices worked with the police to stop £45.3 million of fraud through the Banking Protocol rapid scam response last year, bringing the total amount of fraud prevented to £142 million since the beginning of the scheme, according to the latest figures from UK Finance. Launched in 2016, the Banking Protocol is a UK-wide scheme, developed in…
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Consumer credit provider NewDay has launched Aqua Coach, which uses credit information from TransUnion to help its Aqua customers learn how to build their credit score. Through the Aqua brand, NewDay provides credit to consumers that may not be served by mainstream lenders. Aqua Coach gives these customers access to their credit score, and highlights…
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