On 3 March 2021, the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) published two sets of statistics. quarterly data for October-December 2020 summarises the types of complaints FOS has received. half-year data shows which firms had the most complaints in July-December 2020 and how often FOS upheld the customers' cases. Caroline Wayman, the FOS CEO says: "Excluding PPI, new complaints are up by … [Read more...]
Debt news – 28 February 2021
The major news last week was the long-awaited and epic in scope FCA Guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers. But for a shorter read, try Louise Casey: 'Are we ever going to create a Britain for everyone?' Debt news Guidance for firms on the fair treatment of vulnerable customers FCA: We want to drive improvements in the way firms treat vulnerable consumers and … [Read more...]
Debt news – 21 February 2021
My pick of last week's news is the Resolution Foundations' report on rent arrears: Tackling the UK’s building arrears crisis. Graph of the week In our thought experiment, we apply the growing housing arrears and apply it to see what it could mean for the courts resolving such issues. Bluntly, the courts will be put under severe strain, causing further problems for renters and landlords … [Read more...]
Overdrafts – a hard type of debt to clear
Do you worry you will always be stuck in your overdraft? You aren't alone. Overdrafts can be the hardest sort of debt to pay off. Even authorised overdrafts aren't cheap, once you stop being a student. So what can you do that will work? Very hard to escape from The hamster on this wheel is enjoying going round and round and never getting anywhere. For many people, their overdraft feels … [Read more...]
Debt news – 14 February 2021
My pick of last week's new are the articles on changing the DRO criteria. Tweet of the week “To recommend thrift to the poor is both grotesque and insulting. It is like advising a man who is starving to eat less.” - Oscar Wilde - — 🅼🅰🆁🅸🅰 🅼. (@mariabowiemuser) February 13, 2021 Debt news FCA finds the Covid-19 pandemic leaves over a quarter of UK adults with low financial … [Read more...]
Proposed DRO changes – a good start!
In January 2021 the Insolvency Services started a consultation on proposals to widen the eligibility criteria for Debt Relief Orders (DROs). It estimates these changes will mean that 15,500 more people could be eligible for a DRO each year. DROs were introduced in 2009 as a simpler alternative to bankruptcy for people with few assets and no realistic chance of paying much towards their … [Read more...]
Debt news – 7 February 2021
My pick of last week's news is the Woolard Review. Debt news Review into change and innovation in the unsecured credit market (the Woolard Review) FCA: A report by the FCA's previous CEO. Demanding regulation of BNPL such as Klarna made the most headlines, but it's a lot wider-ranging eg sections on debt advice. Five reasons why the Woolard review hits all the right notes Money Advice … [Read more...]
Amigo’s Scheme (2) – key points to think about
On 25 January 2021 Amigo announced that it is proceeding with the next stage of its proposed Scheme of Arrangement and published the formal Practice Statement Letter (PSL) that describes the Scheme for the customers affected. I have summarised the proposal in Amigo’s Scheme (1) timetable for approval & how it may work. This article is a follow-up, looking at seven points of concern about … [Read more...]
Debt news – 31 January 2021
A very varied set of articles this week. My pick of last week's news is Amigo announces proceeding with Scheme. Tweet of the week The overwhelming case against cutting Universal Credit: not the pandemic, but the extraordinary cuts to unemployment-related benefits over the last four decades.https://t.co/2PVrbLVBAD pic.twitter.com/2PbwYpMrYo — Jonathan Portes (@jdportes) January 24, … [Read more...]
Can you get refunds from catalogues, credit cards & overdrafts?
Have you had a catalogue, credit card or overdraft where you were given a high credit limit? So high that the monthly repayments were hard to manage so you got into more debt? Many people were originally given sensible limits, but the lender kept increasing them. You may have a good complaint that the lender was irresponsible in allowing you to borrow so much that the debt was … [Read more...]
Amigo’s Scheme (1) timetable for approval & how it may work
On 25 January 2021, Amigo announced that it is proceeding with the next stage of the Scheme of Arrangement which it proposed in December. Amigo is proposing a Scheme because it can't afford to pay refunds to all the customers who were given unaffordable loans. It says it is likely to go into insolvency if the Scheme is not approved. About a million Amigo customers are being texted or emailed … [Read more...]
Amigo – many customers may do better in Administration than a Scheme!
When Amigo announced it was proposing a Scheme of Arrangement in December, it said: Amigo continues to explore alternative options but it is likely the alternative options would result in those with Redress Claims receiving considerably lower amounts (if any at all) than they would under the Scheme. But that isn't correct for one large group of borrowers who would be significantly better off if … [Read more...]
Debt news – 24 January 2021
My pick of last week's news is The problem is poverty, however we label it. On the undeserving poor ... and the undeserving rich. Tweet of the week Another football club pushing gambling. 🤦🏻♂️ https://t.co/IDGWlouxBN — Gary Lineker 💙 (@GaryLineker) January 23, 2021 Debt news Debt Relief Orders: what do we know, what should we do? Wearedebtadvisers: Debt advisers can register … [Read more...]
No calls or letters about a debt for years?
If its been several years since you stopped paying a debt and you haven't had any phone calls or letters for a long while, you may be hoping your debt has "got lost". Perhaps the debt collector has forgotten about it... Mr H has a typical situation: I stopped paying a loan at the start of 2016 when I lost my job. I have a Default on my credit file for June 2016. The bank sold it to a debt … [Read more...]
Is Amigo allowed to delay paying refunds? Does it have a DISP waiver?
When Amigo announced in December 2020 that it was seeking a Scheme of Arrangement to cap the amount it has to pay to customers owed refunds for unaffordable lending, it said: To ensure equal treatment of customers with Redress Claims, Amigo will stop the ongoing payment of all Redress Claims, except for those cases where the Redress Claims result from: (i) reviewed and upheld complaints where a … [Read more...]
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