Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Thousands of people at risk of experiencing homelessness will be able to open bank accounts for the first time through a new pilot between Shelter and five major banks, which will allow Shelter to support people without a fixed address removing a major barrier which stops people being able to get paid work. Lloyds, NatWest,…
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Latest figures from The Equity Release Council have shown that the equity release market space continued to demonstrate resilience in Quarter 3 2025, with total lending rising to £639 million, up from £636 million in Q2 and 4% higher than the same period in 2024. While total plan numbers were lower this quarter, customers released…
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TSB has reported an 11% increase in purchase fraud cases from January to September 2025, with these scams making up 63% of bank transfer fraud, up from 52% in 2024. Victims lost an average of £452 per scam. Experts advise consumers to verify sellers and use secure payment methods to avoid falling victim to these…
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Fraud prevention service, Cifas has announced a partnership with Trend Micro to deliver JustMe, a first of its kind mobile app designed to protect individuals from identity fraud and online scams. Fraud accounts for as much as 44% of all recorded crimes in England and Wales, with an estimated £219 billion annual cost to the UK…
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Up to 1.9 million adults, equivalent to 4% of the population, are estimated to have used unlicensed money lenders or loan sharks in the past 12 months, according to an IPSOS UK survey commissioned by Fair4All Finance. The cost of living crisis has exacerbated this situation for many, reducing households’ headroom to absorb unexpected financial…
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A coalition of businesses and charities have outlined a series of demands for urgent reform to unlock home ownership for millions of renters. Following a summit in London on 29th October, the group have sent a joint letter to the Chancellor ahead of the Autumn Budget, urging reforms that would ensure renters’ payment history is…
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Latest data has shown that complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) fell to 46,300 in the quarter ending September 2025, down from 73,700 a year earlier. The decline follows the introduction of charges for professional representatives referring cases. FOS recorded 305,726 complaints for the year ending 31st March, with this driven by grievances over…
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The DWP has published income-related benefits data, including Pension Credit, indicating that up to £2.5 billion of Pension Credit goes unclaimed by 950,000 eligible families. The data showed that 62% of those entitled to Pension Credit received the benefit in the tax year 2023/24, down from 65% in 2023. The research showed that the number…
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New research from FICO has revealed that consumers are prioritising fraud protection over other considerations when selecting financial service providers. Banking-related fraud, such as stolen cards and identity theft leading to application fraud, tops their list of concerns, while traditional scams like cash theft and shopping fraud rank far lower. The data showed that 35%…
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Rapid rent increases since the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) has been frozen mean the gap between the support low-income private tenants receive and the 30th percentile of local rents is already at 14 per cent (£104 a month for a typical two-bedroom property). This affordability gap is expected to reach a record 17 per cent…
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A new report from Lloyds Merchant Services has found that consumers are increasingly looking for payment flexibility. 61% of adopters say they are more likely to shop with a retailer offering Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), rising to 63% for point-of-sale (POS) finance. Half (50%) are comfortable using BNPL for mid-ticket purchases between £100 and…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) reported that financial services firms paid out £283 million in redress for complaints in the first half of 2025, a 20% increase from £236 million in the previous half. The FCA received 1.85 million complaints, marking a 3.6% rise compared to the second half of 2024. Complaints about banking and…
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Latest buy-to-let lending by UK Finance for Quarter 2 (Q2) has found that there were 49,590 new buy-to-let loans advanced in the UK, worth £8.8 billion. This was relatively flat compared with the same quarter in the previous year, down 2.6 per cent by number (0.2 per cent by value). The average gross buy-to-let rental…
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