Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
The Government has launched a new Fraud Taskforce with insurance companies uniting to step up efforts to crack down on fraudsters seeking to manipulate the insurance market with bogus claims and duping innocent people into buying fake insurance policies. In 2023 alone, 84,400 fraudulent claims worth £1.1 billion were detected by the ABI, a 16%…
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Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in its Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) showed that consumer and retail fraud increased by 19%, reaching approximately 963,000 incidents. Chad Reimers, General Manager of Fraud & ID at TransUnion said “The latest Crime in England and Wales figures from the Office for National…
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The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received 101,031 complaints about banking and credit cards in the first half of the year, with this almost double the 56,690 recorded in the first six months of 2023. Across all products, the first six months of 2024 saw 133,019 new complains logged with the FOS. This marks a 40%…
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The cost of car insurance has fallen by £72 (-8%) year-on-year, according to new research from Compare the Market. The average premium declined to £776 in September 2024, compared to £848 in September 2023. August 2024 and September 2024 were the first months where car insurance premiums have been cheaper than the same period in…
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The Equity Release Council’s latest quarterly market report for Q3 2024 shows that new plans agreed and total lending rose for a second successive quarter for the first time in two years, as the market’s gradual recovery continues. Homeowners over the age of 55 withdrew £615m of property wealth from their homes between July and…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Volkswagen’s UK financial services arm £5.4m for its unfair treatment of customers in financial difficulty. The City watchdog found that between January 2017 and July 2023. The investigation, Volkswagen Finance took cars away from vulnerable customers without considering other options. The firm failed to understand customers’ individual circumstances…
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UK Finance’s half-year fraud report has found that criminals stole £571.7 million through unauthorised and authorised fraud, a 1.5 per cent decrease compared to the first half of 2023. Banks prevented £710.9 million of unauthorised fraud through advanced security systems with 72 per cent of APP fraud started online and 16 per cent started through…
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Shoppers who use Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans are to get new safeguards against unaffordable borrowing and credit card-style protection for their purchases, under rules outlined by the Government. Buy-Now, Pay-Later products have become increasingly popular in recent years as they allow people to spread the cost of purchases over time, but users currently…
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Over a quarter (26%) of people in the UK admit they’ve never checked their credit score, sparking concern from CredAbility, who warn that a lack of financial knowledge could be limiting people’s access to credit and leading to higher interest rates on fewer options. The survey also found that 49% don’t know their credit score,…
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New research from personal finance specialist Finder has found that 1 in 20 consumers have hidden credit score problems from their partner. The research also showed that a third of consumers (34%) – an estimated 18.5 million people – have withheld important information about their finances from their partner in a current or previous relationship.…
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Inflation fell unexpectedly to 1.7 per cent in the year to September, the lowest rate in three-and-a-half years, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, households were hit by a jump in food and non-alcoholic drink inflation, with stronger price increases for milk, cheese, eggs and fruit. Lower airfares and petrol prices…
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New data SunLife has revealed a real split amongst households on the ‘inheritance’ debate. The report, found that a third of people over 50 (32%) would rather spend their kids’ ‘inheritance’ on enjoying their own retirement, even if it means there would be nothing left to inherit. With 63% of over 50s worrying about the cost…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined TSB £10.9m, having found that the bank’s systems put customers at risk of harm. An investigation found that TSB failed to treat customers in arrears fairly, with more than 230,000 mortgage, overdraft, credit card and loan customers found to have been affected and were paid £100m in redress.…
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