Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The UK mobile industry, banking and finance sectors and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) have joined forces to prevent criminals from sending scam text messages exploiting the Covid-19 crisis. The ongoing industry initiative by the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), Mobile UK and UK Finance, supported by the NCSC, is helping to identify and block…
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New research from Citizens Advice reveals one fifth (20%) of UK adults say they have applied or expect to apply for benefits as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. This rises to 68% of people on zero-hours contracts. The findings come as government data today shows over 1.5 million households made a Universal Credit claim…
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UK households will have £43 billion less cash available for essential spending between April and June, as the UK slides into its deepest recession in decades. Disposable income earned by UK households, once it has been adjusted for tax and benefits, will be 17% lower in the second quarter of this year, according to analysis…
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37% of people across the UK have seen their incomes had been affected by the Coronavirus impact according to new research by Kantar. Nearly four in 10 people who have been financially impacted by coronavirus have seen half their income or more wiped out. Some 14% of people whose income had been impacted said it…
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Metro Bank has committed to repay more than £10.5 million to its customer after it breached a legal order by failing to send texts warning people about unarranged overdraft charges. The bank was found to have breached Part 6 of the Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) Retail Banking Market Investigation Order 2017. This requires banks…
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A specialist police unit funded by the banking industry has executed several warrants across the country in a crackdown on criminals sending scam text messages and emails exploiting the coronavirus outbreak. The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) is made up of officers from the City of London Police and Metropolitan Police and is…
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New data from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions has revealed overall consumer spending declined by 6% in March due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, although some sectors saw strong growth. The figures revealed that spending on essential items rose by 11.6 per cent in March. Supermarket purchases…
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Figures from the Financial Conduct Authority show complaints to financial services firm jumped from 4.29m in the first six months of 2019 to 6.02m in the second half of the year. This was driven by a surge in claims for mis-sold PPI ahead of an industry-wide deadline last August. The data show that complaints related…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced a proposed package of measures to directly support consumers facing payment difficulties due to coronavirus (Covid-19). The range of targeted temporary measures covers the motor finance and high cost credit agreements, which include: high-cost short-term credit (including payday loans), buy-now pay-later (BNPL), rent-to-own (RTO) and pawnbroking. The proposals…
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he Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) has highlighted the need for changes to the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) following 526,000 Covid-related requests for forbearance to its members by mid-April. Giving evidence yesterday to the Treasury Select Committee on the economic impact of Coronavirus, Stephen Haddrill, Director General of the Finance & Leasing Association, highlighted the…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business grew in February 2020 by 6% compared with the same month in 2019. Credit card and personal loan new business together grew in February 2020 by 9% compared with the same month in 2019, while retail store and online…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that new business volumes in the consumer car finance market fell in February 2020 by 1% compared with the same month in 2019. The consumer new car finance market reported new business volumes 8% lower in February 2020 compared with the same month in…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that Second charge mortgage new business volumes up by 13% in February 2020 Commenting on the latest new business figures for the second charge mortgage market, Fiona Hoyle, Head of Consumer and Mortgage Finance at the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA), said “The second…
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