Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Latest data from the Bank of England shows consumer borrowing rose to £2 billion in November, up from £1.4 billion the month before. This is an increase on the £1.3 billion expected by analysts. The annual growth rate for consumer credit was 8.6% in November, the highest rate since September 2018. Higher borrowing on credit…
Read more
Londoners are the most reliant on their savings with almost three milion people forced to dip into savings pots to afford essential everyday costs, according to new research from AI powered transaction analytics firm, Fuse. A third (33%) of people in London rely on their savings to pay everyday expenses compared to 24% of people…
Read more
Nearly a quarter (22%) of Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) users have missed one or more repayments in the six months to December 2023, leading to late payment fees and in a quarter of cases, a mark against their credit score too according to data from the nonprofit Centre for Financial Capability (CFC). More than a…
Read more
Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) about motor finance more than doubled in the three months to September. The increase was primarily driven by professional representatives, sometimes known as claims management companies. However, the upheld cases emanating from such organisations were particularly low. Across all areas of complaints, FoS has reported that more than half…
Read more
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has outlined new consumer protections for people who have been tricked into transferring money to scammers will be able to receive up to £415,000 back per claim under new fraud requirements coming into force next year, The measures are is in line with the maximum award the Financial Ombudsman Service…
Read more
New independent research conducted by BVA BDRC for UK Finance shows that despite a challenging economic outlook, ethnic minority owned businesses (EMBs) are more likely than most SMEs to have ambition for the future. They are also more likely to take risks to grow and be trading overseas. The report demonstrates the high-level of ambition…
Read more
A study by Ford Credit has found that more people are now prioritising saving for a car (24%), than for a house (18%) or home renovations (19%). The research found that one in five still believe they will be able to get a foot on the housing ladder, whilst over a third (38%) have given…
Read more
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued the Bank of Ireland UK with a reprimand for mistakes made on more than 3,000 customers’ credit profiles. The investigation found that Bank of Ireland UK sent incorrect outstanding balances on 3,284 customers’ loan accounts to credit reference agencies, organisations that help lenders decide whether to approve financial…
Read more
Consumer confidence has improved in the run-up to Christmas, according to the latest GfK consumer confidence index. The index score has risen two points since last month but remains firmly in negative territory at minus 22 – an improvement on the minus 29 reported this time last year. All five components within the survey saw…
Read more
New complaints data from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has shown that complaints relating to motor issues now make up 25% of all cases for the second quarter (Q2) of this financial year, July to September 2023/24. These increasing complaint levels have arisen in two separate sectors. From 1st July to 30th September 2023, on…
Read more
The Bank of England has announced that interest rates will be held flat at 5.25%. The MPC voted 6-3 to hold rates steady, with dissenters preferring to raise rates by 0.25% to 5.5% Responding to the news Change Debt Charity that the hold will be worrying for households yet to secure a new fixed-rate mortgage…
Read more
New research by My Pension Expert has revealed that over-40s are facing retirement savings anxiety this Christmas. The research found that 37% of UK over 40’s say that during the Christmas period they recognise the significance of financial security in retirement. 31% of over 40’s say spending more during the Christmas period makes them more…
Read more
Lending for house purchases is predicted to fall by 8% in 2024, according to a report by UK Finance. Lending for house purchases is ex[expected to fall from £130 billion this year to £120 billion in 2024. UK Finance says higher interest rates and household costs will make it harder for people to access mortgage…
Read more