Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
A new Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report into the use of benefit sanctions has revealed jobcentres and providers use them “inconsistently”, with some Work Programme providers referring twice as many people for sanctions as others in the same area. It also found the “severity” of sanctions – a reduction or suspension of payments because a claimant…
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HMRC’s Counter Avoidance Directorate collected £92 million in unpaid Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) in the year 2015-16, according to Collyer Bristow. The amount collected has fallen from £301.2million in 2014-15, indicating that the government’s strategy and legislative changes have been successful in preventing SDLT avoidance opportunities, the law firm said. James Badcock, partner at…
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Here is an overview of The Money Charity’s latest statistics for February 2017: Personal debt in the UK People in the UK owed £1.516 trillion at the end of December 2016. This is up from £1.466 trillion at the end of December 2015 – an extra £995.53 per UK adult. According to the Office for…
Read moreOverseas buyers and British expats without correct advice are finding it increasingly difficult to purchase property in the UK, according to research provided deVere Mortgages. The observation follows the introduction of new tougher requirements for buy-to-let borrowers year by UK lenders. Darren Mead, Head of Mortgages at the firm, which is part of deVere Group, one of…
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Inequality is on the rise, with the difference in financial fortunes between low and high income families becoming starker over the past year, according to Aviva’s latest Family Finances Report. At the same time, families are also facing increased financial pressure from stalling incomes and savings, combined with rising debt and inflation fears. The savings…
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New data released from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has revealed house purchase activity increased month-on-month and year-on-year but remortgage and buy-to-let levels decreased. Paul Smee, director general of the CML said “2016 could have been a potentially destabilising year of regulatory and political change, but the mortgage market has been resilient and adaptable.…
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Building societies provided almost one in three mortgages approved in the final quarter of 2016. Collectively they approved 109,543 new mortgage loans, up 7% on the same period in 2015. Consumers saved less in Q4 than they did the Lending in 2016 as a whole was higher than in 2015 with mortgage approvals up by…
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The number of properties taken into possession last year declined by almost 25%, according to new data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) Last year’s total of 7,700 cases of possession compared with 10,200 in 2015, and was the lowest number since 1982. Over the course of 2016, the number of mortgages in arrears also fell by 7%. However,…
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New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that the number of second charge mortgage repossessions was 144 in 2016, almost 37% lower than in 2015. In the final quarter of 2016, the number of repossessions was 39, up by 18% compared with the same quarter in 2015. The rate of second-charge…
Read moreDanske Bank has revealed its Northern Ireland business saw new mortgage lending approvals grow 96% over the past year. The Northern Irish arm reported a profit before impairments of £91million for the 12 months to the end of December 2016, a 5% increase on 2015. Kevin Kingston, CEO of Danske Bank UK, said it had introduced…
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Millions of people in the UK who rent their homes from private landlords are putting themselves and their families at risk of eviction and financial hardship due to lack of a financial back-up plan, according to research from Scottish Widows. Despite almost a third (30%) of private renters admitting that they’d not be financially secure…
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The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) estimates that gross mortgage lending reached £20.4 billion in December. This is 4% lower than November (£21.2 billion), and 4% higher than December 2015 (£19.7 billion). This brings the estimated total for the year to £246 billion, a 12% increase on 2015’s £220 billion and the highest annual gross…
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A scheme aimed at tackling financial and social exclusion amongst private renters has been launched. CreditLadder in association with Experian’s Rental Exchange programme , seeks to boost a tenant’s credit rating by recording their rent payments on their credit file. This means millions of tenants throughout the UK are now able to build their credit score,…
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