Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
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…
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Community finance organisations and associated organisations are being invited to apply for grants and investment funding ranging from £10,000 to £500,000 from the new Community Finance Resilience Fund. The fund, worth more than £5 million in total, has been created by Fair4All Finance in recognition of the cost-of-living challenges for community finance providers and their borrowers, to help the community finance sector to grow and help more…
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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…
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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…
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More people could access financial advice or support under new proposals published by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA. The proposals suggest a new form of simplified advice that makes it easier for firms to provide affordable personal recommendations to clients with smaller sums to invest. The FCA and Government are seeking views, as part of…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a proposed a range of reforms it which it says would improve quality of information collated by credit reference agencies (CRAs) to ensure consumers’ credit files better reflect personal financial circumstances. In November 2022, the FCA published an interim report which found that whilst the credit information market was working…
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The Economic Affairs Committee has published a new report which is calling for the operational independence of the Bank of England to be preserved. The report that reforms are vital to improve its performance; strengthen its accountability to Parliament; and ensure it focuses on its key objectives of tackling inflation and maintaining financial stability. The…
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New data from Skillcast has found that of the 75 fines imposed by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the past three years, including GDPR fines, has found a disparity between the impact of fines on small and large businesses. Over a quarter (26%) of micro and small businesses who…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has expressed disappointment with banks’ anti-crime systems and their treatment of fraud victims. The FCA’s review found that banks were not fully considering customer vulnerabilities when handling fraud claims and complaints. Customers were provided with unclear and confusing decision letters, with some containing accusatory language. The FCA is working with…
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The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted in favour of leaving the base rate at 5.25% and has said that this is likely to be the peak with rate cuts are unlikely until at least the middle of next year, and even then are expected to be very gradual. The. MPC voted 6-3 to…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has taken action against PayPal and QVC after finding potentially unfair and unclear small print in their buy now, pay later (BNPL) contracts. The FCA expressed concern over the impact on customers and prompted the two companies to change their terms. PayPal and QVC voluntarily made their terms easier to…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has fined Equifax 11,164,400 for failing to manage and monitor the security of UK consumer data it had outsourced to its parent company based in the US. The breach allowed hackers to access the personal data of millions of people and exposed UK consumers to the risk of financial crime.…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says the cost-of-living crunch is pushing people toward payday loans and buy-now pay-later (BNPL) products. In a speech, the regulator’s Chief Executive, Nikhil Rathi, warned that rising prices have pushed people into debt, with many still unable to access financial products. The regulators analysis shows that the number of people…
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