Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Latest data from the Bank of England has found that loan defaults have risen to 6.2% in early 2026, the highest since late 2024 (7.8 per cent), when the UK had seen several hikes in interest rates. Unsecured lending defaults hit 18.6% in Q1 this year, the highest figure since the last quarter of 2023.…
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With possible income tax and threshold reforms expected in the Budget, new data from Howden Life and Health reveal families are already under pressure, with millions forced to borrow from friends and family, take out loans, and even cancel insurance policies to cover sudden costs. As part of its Health Gap report, Howden Life and Health surveyed 3,000…
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StepChange Debt Charity’s 2024 Statistics Yearbook, published to mark the start of Debt Awareness Week, has revealed tha the average StepChange client is £3,911 in arrears on household bills, a jump of 25% from £3,124 in 2023. Overall, the average amount of debt per StepChange client jumped 7%, from £16,706 in 2023 to £17,936 in…
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Q4 mortgage data from Pepper Money has revealed that residential arrears increased as borrowing costs rise unexpectedly. The data found that the rate of arrears for residential mortgages grew by 2.4% on Q3, following two consecutive quarters of decline. The arrears rate for fixed rate mortgages grew 8.4%, marking the highest growth rate since Q1…
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Mortgage lending rose for the second consecutive quarter to reach £41.4bn in Quarter 3 (Q3), up 15% compared to the same three months of last year, according to latest data UK Finance. Mortgage activity throughout 2024 has been very sensitive to changes in product pricing. In the third quarter, as lenders were able to reduce…
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New research from Citizens Advice has found that five million people are in a negative budget, with the charity warns a living standards catastrophe is becoming the new normal ahead of the general election. The charity’s new analysis shows that the number of people in the red has jumped from 3.25 million since the start…
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One in four people in the UK (27%) are currently behind on at least one bill with Citizens Advice warning the situation only looks set to deteriorate in the coming months. The research estimates household debt, covering things like essential bills and benefit repayments sits at £22 billion. But the charity warns the true figure…
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The number of households missing essential payments has risen to 2.4 million, in line with the high levels seen last winter according to analysis by Which? Which’s July consumer insight tracker found that 2.4 million households missed or defaulted on an essential payment – such as a housing, bill, loan or credit card payment –…
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An estimated 5.5 million people (one in ten adults) were behind on their energy bills in April, an increase of 2.1 million compared to March 2022 according to new research from the Money Advice Trust, the charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline. The charity’s Under Pressure research, based on an Opinium survey…
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Data from UK Finance shows that the number of households falling into arrears increased in Quarter 1 of 2023. The figures showed that were 76,630 homeowner mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more of the outstanding balance in the first quarter of 2023 2% greater than in the previous quarter. The figures also showed that…
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An estimated 700,000 households missed a housing payment in the last month, new Which? research suggests, as the consumer champion calls on essential businesses to do more to support people through the cost of living crisis. Missed housing payments were particularly high among renters – with one in 20 (5.2%) renters surveyed missing a payment…
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Intrum’s annual European Consumer Payment Report has shown that inflation is a major concern for consumers. Consumer confidence has plummeted, and more than a third are struggling to make ends meet. Surging inflation has created a wave of financial anxiety as households struggle to meet their commitments. Two out of every five believe they will…
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One-fifth of UK adults are already behind on one or more household bill, and one in nine have gone without food as a result of rising costs, according to new research from the Money Advice Trust. While the government’s Energy Price Guarantee removes the risk of energy bills climbing even further, the charity, which runs…
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