Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
New research by TotallyMoney has investigated the different payments structures for Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and has found a lack of consistency and regulation is leading to millions of people struggling to manage payments. The research found that. the average customer makes 4 BNPL transactions per month, resulting in 12 separate payments for the…
Read more
Consumer confidence improved by two points in April, according to GfK’s latest consumer confidence reading. Confidence stood at -19 during the month, an improvement from -21 points recorded in both March and February. The improvement came in a month that saw inflation fall to its lowest since 2021, national insurance payroll taxes cut, and domestic…
Read more
Home insurance premiums increased by nearly a third (31%) between January and March 2024, compared to the same time last year, according to new research from Compare the Market. The average cost of insuring a home in the UK rose from £159 in 2023 to £209 this year, an increase of £53. Home insurance premiums…
Read more
Complaints related to current accounts and credit cards increased in the second half of 2023, according to latest data from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). In 2023 H2 the total amount of redress was £259 million. This is 10% higher than 2023 H1 (£236 million). The average payout rose to £203, up from £183 in…
Read more
New research by Hargreaves Lansdown has found that over 1.4 million people remorgaged from a fixed rate mortgage last year with with more than half coming off rates under 2% and that by the end of last year, more than a third were struggling with rent or mortgage payments. The research found that 470,000 are…
Read more
Members of the Association of British Insurers (ABI) have committed to new steps to try and manage the amount that those paying monthly for their motor insurance and are charged for the benefit. The ABI set out the steps that the industry is taking to combat the rise in the cost of motor insurance at…
Read more
Spring optimism saw households spend more on the things they want in March as year-on-year essential costs began to fall, Nationwide’s Spending Report shows. The situation, likely aided by warmer weather and stabilising costs, saw discretionary spend increase across gardening, meals out and holidays at the same time costs reduced across areas including debt, utilities…
Read more
A new report from the Building Societies Association (BSA) has found that those looking to get onto the property ladder are facing the toughest conditions in 70 years. The BSA says that significant changes are required if we are to help prospective first-time buyers get onto the property ladder in the current housing market. It…
Read more
Latest UK Finance data has revealed that Credit card balance transfer activity reached £1.8 billion in value in January, according to UK Finance data (The Independent). There were 347.9 million credit card transactions in January, 8.4 % more than in January 2023. The total spend of £20.4 billion was 8.4 % higher than January 2023.…
Read more
Car owners are being hit with eye-watering annual percentage rates (APR) of nearly 40 per cent when paying for their insurance monthly, a new Which? investigation has found. The study found some home insurers charging up to almost 35 per cent APR on monthly payments. The consumer champion is now calling on the Financial Conduct…
Read more
Around half (48%) of first-time buyers say their prospects of owning a home are further away than ever due to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, research by Nationwide Building Society shows. The research shows that one in five (20%) don’t think they will be able to buy until at least their forties – a significant increase…
Read more
Fraud prevention service, Cifas has released its 2024 Fraudscape report, detailing the latest fraud data and intelligence recorded by its members during 2023. The research found that more than 374,000 cases were reported to the Cifas National Fraud Database (NFD), with members recording an incident of fraud every two minutes, preventing more than £1.8bn in…
Read more
Latest figures from the Hargreaves Lansdown’s Savings & Resilience Barometer have shown that on average, households spend £2,081 on essentials each month. The cost of 3 months’ worth of essentials is up £1,028 in two years – and the cost of 3 years’ worth is up £12,339. Spending on essentials varies wildly with income. The…
Read more