Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Debt charity StepChange has said that it helped or guided nearly half a million people last year, with more clients receiving full debt advice than in the previous year. Last year saw 171,000 people receive full debt advice compared to 158,000 people in 2021, while a further 312,000 clients used a StepChange money guidance or…
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More than 18,000 new StepChange Debt Charity clients completed full debt advice in January 2023, which is at least 22% higher than any single month in 2022, suggesting that more and more people are struggling with debt in the new year following almost 12 months of rising living costs. Latest Bank of England data for January showed…
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The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced that is to push ahead with proposals to ban debt packager firms from receiving referral fees from debt solution providers, following further analysis of the market. The FCA initially consulted on a ban in November 2021 after identifying a lack of adequate management of the conflict of interest…
Read moreThe Money Advice Trust has announced major enhancements to its National Debtline and Business Debtline services, as the charity’s new contracts with the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) go live. National Debtline and Business Debtline – which offer free, independent and confidential debt advice by phone, webchat and online – will help 440,000 people in…
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Debt advice provider, MoneyPlus Advice has seen enquiries for debt help significantly increase this month already, with initial enquiries rising by 353%, compared with the same period last year. Over the last 6 months, people citing the cost of living as their main reason for financial difficulty has more than tripled, and this worrying trend…
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New research by Lowell has found that 69% of people in debt don’t talk about it with a majority saying it’s because they are embarrassed. The company’s latest Financial Vulnerability Index has shown that borrowing has risen dramatically since the beginning of the year with over one in five consumers have mental health difficulties caused…
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More than 11 million people across the UK have looked for money help in the past three months alone, new research from the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) suggests. The survey of 3,000 adults, carried out for Talk Money Week has shown that the rising cost of living has led to one in five (21%)…
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New analysis published today by the Money Advice Trust (the charity which runs the National Debtline service) and data company, Experian, has revealed new insights about the pressures being experienced by UK consumers. The analysis shows that three in 10 (29%) UK adults are worrying about their finances every day, while one in seven (15%)…
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MoneyPlus Advice, a Manchester-based debt advice firm offering help to people struggling with unmanageable debt says they are seeing startling data for just how much cost of living is influencing debt enquires. Between 2020 and 2022, customers citing ‘cost of living’ as their reason for seeking debt advice, increased by 450%. A sharp increase of…
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Clients taking advantage of Breathing Space in its first year have experienced markedly improved outcomes compared to those who did not, according to a new survey of by debt charity StepChange. The charity found that clients who took Breathing Space were over three times more likely to go through full debt advice and enter into…
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New data for April from StepChange Debt Charity shows that the cost of living is now the second most commonly cited reason for debt, up from the third most common in March and the sixth most common in 2021. The proportion of clients citing the cost of living as a driver of their problem debt is now 15%,…
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The Credit Services Association (CSA), the UK trade body for debt collection and debt purchase, has released a new report exploring the provision of debt advice for those facing financial difficulties and in need of support. The report entitled ‘Wide of the Mark? Assessing the Delivery & Value of Free-To-Client Debt Advice’ argues that consistent…
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The Covid pandemic has had a very distinct impact on the progress of people seeking debt advice, according to research by StepChange. The debt charity measured the impact of debt advice on clients – primarily on progress on resolving debt, but also wider measures such as wellbeing – through surveys undertaken at three months, nine…
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