A reader asked: I’m a single parent and have had about 10k of debts in a debt management plan for several years. I’m on low income and it looks like it will never end plus I have got some further debts. Now I’m considering a Debt Relief Order (DRO). But I met someone and I’m thinking about starting to live together. I don’t want to tell him about my debts and really want to sort this out … [Read more...]
Record numbers of CCJs in 2019 & for smaller amounts
On May 13, the statistics for CCJs for the first quarter of 2019. were published by Registry Trust, who keeps the records of CCJs in England and Wales. There were more than 320,000 consumer CCJs in the three months, the highest number recorded for a quarter. Consumers are being sued more often for smaller amounts of money The graph shows how the number of CCJs in the first quarter of … [Read more...]
Payday lenders tired of having to pay so many refunds – unsurprising!
The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) published its Annual Review this week which highlighted the massive jump in payday loan complaints - up 130% to c.40,000 in 2018-19. The Consumer Finance Association (CFA) has responded with a blog "Reflecting on the FOS Annual Review". The CFA is the trade association for payday lenders, so you won't be surprised they are not happy... Mandy Rice-Davies's … [Read more...]
Going bankrupt in England and Wales – a checklist
Most people find going bankrupt is stressful. Although afterwards it is usually much easier than you have expected, at the time there seems to be so much to get right. Here is a checklist, covering everything you need to do before submit your bankruptcy application. The good news is that this is now all much simpler than it used to be. A few years ago you had to go to court with three copies … [Read more...]
Get a simple budget that works – don’t make excuses!
You need something that puts you in control of your spending. Your grandparents used to budget using a pencil and paper. But they didn't have contactless cards and mobile bills and overdrafts and credit cards and takeaways... Now many people find it harder to budget and feel they have lost control. For a budget to make your life easier, it has to be realistic and not time-consuming. This … [Read more...]
Credit cards – to close or not to close?
If you have a credit card or catalogue account with a zero balance, should you close it? You may be worried if this would help or harm your credit score. But that isn't the only thing to consider. And what impact will it have on a mortgage application - cr4edit scores aren't the only that matters to a mortgage lender. This decision is important to get right if you are trying to clear your … [Read more...]
“Can I transfer a loan to my partner? It’s car finance.”
A reader asked: I got a car loan last September because I had better credit than my partner. She has been paying it off since the start by transferring the money to my bank account. Now the question is, would it be possible to transfer the loan to my partner so it's completely in her name? And if so would it move off my credit report? You can't "transfer" a loan The simple answer is No. … [Read more...]
Q1 2019 – IVA numbers – the upward trend continues
On 30 April the Insolvency Service published the personal insolvency statistics for the first quarter of 2019. Comparing this quarter to the last quarter of 2018: bankruptcy and DRO numbers were about the same; IVA numbers dropped from 22,943 in Q4 2018 to 20,325 in Q1 2019. The upward trend of IVAs continues It is a mistake to make too much of this fall in IVA numbers, because the … [Read more...]
A template letter to ask for a BrightHouse refund (old article)
This article was used to help people make affordability complaints to BrightHouse. Now (March 2020) BrightHouse is about to go into administration, this article is no longer relevant. You can still complain, but the process is much simpler and you can no longer go to the Financial Ombudsman. See BrightHouse administration – how does this affect customers? which says what you should do now, … [Read more...]
Guarantor loans – why guarantors & borrowers need extra protection
Guarantor loans are coming into the regulatory spotlight. The FCA wrote to CEOs in March 2019 saying it will be looking at affordability and whether potential guarantors have enough information to understand how likely it is that they may have to make the loan payments. In a speech, Jonathan Davis said: Recent work we have done in this area showed that many guarantors are making at least 1 … [Read more...]
“Is it too soon for low settlement offers to be accepted?”
A reader, Mr P, asked: I have debts of around £28,000 on five credit cards and loans, which I couldn't pay from last summer. A Debt Management Plan (DMP) was set up a couple of months ago. This will take about ten years to pay off. The DMP firm suggested an IVA or bankruptcy as I'm not a homeowner but I do not really want to get into an IVA or bankruptcy as these will affect my credit score … [Read more...]
2018 FOS statistics – most complaints about QuickQuid
New statistics for July-December 2018 from the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) show how payday loan complaints have jumped in the second half of 2018 and give details for how many complaints the larger lenders had. Almost all these cases are affordability complaints where a customer was given payday loans without proper affordability checks and is asking for a refund of interest paid. The … [Read more...]
Are you worried about a charging order?
Can your house really be at risk if you get into difficulties repaying something like a credit card bill? You might think the answer is "no", but there are some very rare situations where this can happen. It helps to know the facts, so you can make good decisions about how to deal with your debts. To be able to sell your house a creditor has to: start by getting a County Court Judgment … [Read more...]
Why is QuickQuid going to delete old customer data?
QuickQuid has told some customers that it plans to delete loan data over seven years old with effect from today, 15th April 2019. It says this is to comply with its legal obligations. QuickQuid has sent emails to the affected customers asking if they would like a copy of their data before it is deleted. It seems to me that this new policy is not in the customers' interest because it will … [Read more...]
Wonga – the adminstrators’ report – March 2019
The Wonga Administrators’ six month progress report to end February 2019 was emailed to creditors on 27 March 2019. The creditors include the so-called "redress creditors". These are the customers who complained to Wonga saying they were given unaffordable payday loans. Collecting outstanding loans When Wonga went into administration, the Gross Loan Book totalled £77 million. So far … [Read more...]
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