My picks of last week's news are: - Why UK energy bills are soaring to record highs – and how to cut them. Important reading if you haven't seen it. - and After my husband died Virgin Media set debt collectors on me... surely it's time EVERY firm taught staff about grief? Tweet of the week Wow. Analysts Cornwall Insight predicts energy bills will rise to £4,266 in January for a … [Read more...]
Debt news and policy
Debt Camel articles on what's changing - and what ought to change - in the world of personal debt in Britain.
If you are interested in a specific area, look at: High cost credit news & policy and Insolvency news & policy.
I write a weekly round-up of debt and poverty news on Sundays. There are only kept for a month or two, see Weekly News Summaries.
Ofgem says don’t cancel direct debits – but has no good alternatives
Ofgem says you shouldn't cancel the direct debit to your energy supplier. This is in response to the Don't Pay UK campaign, which is suggesting supporters cancel their energy direct debits on October 1st: It's simple: we are demanding a reduction of energy bills to an affordable level. Our leverage is that we will gather a million people to pledge not to pay if the government goes ahead with … [Read more...]
Should you cancel your direct debit if you can’t pay your energy bill?
The average UK household annual energy bill is now expected to jump 70% to £3,358 in October. Cornwall Insight predicts that in January 2023 there will be a further increase to about £3,600. That's almost treble what it was at the start of this year. The government's current help with energy bills, including £400 off everyone's electric bill this winter, and cost of living assistance to … [Read more...]
The Money Platform takes payments for loans already repaid
Some Money Platform customers had a payment taken from their bank account unexpectedly and incorrectly on 22 July 2022. This is what one customer said: Shocking from The Money Platform. They’ve made a massive cock up and taken money out of peoples accounts on Friday for loans they had already paid in March. She wasn't the only one. This morning there were over 25 people saying similar things … [Read more...]
Morses considers Scheme to cut refunds to customers
Britain's largest doorstep lender, Morses Club, is considering a plan to reduce its liability to pay compensation to customers mis-sold unaffordable loans. The announcement on 20 July 2022 of a possible Scheme of Arrangement would cap the amount of money Morses has to pay in refunds. It wants a Scheme because it is facing increasing numbers of affordability complaints. It says: A key … [Read more...]
SafetyNet Credit – FCA adds new restrictions to this expensive borrowing
SafetyNet Credit (SNC) temporarily stopped lending this week for a few days. Customers were told on 13 July 2022 by email: SafetyNet has in recent weeks been paying close attention to the significant changes we have seen in customer behaviour as a result of the current cost of living crisis. As a result of this and following engagement with the FCA we have decided to temporarily stop all lending … [Read more...]
Ofgem names energy firms who must improve their Direct Debit setting
Ofgem has been investigating how energy suppliers set customers' direct debits. The energy regulator has found: more than 7 million consumers on a Standard Variable Tariff (SVT) had their direct debits increased between February and April 2022; direct debits went up 62% on average; half a million households had an increase of more than 100%. Ofgem has told 6 energy suppliers to take … [Read more...]
Debt news – 10 July 2022
My pick of last week's news are the articles on energy bills. Call for evidence: Review of the personal insolvency framework gov.uk: My comment - at last! It's wide ranging but slow. - I don't think we can wait for the end of this process for some urgent improvements. Petrol prices: Motorists hit by record monthly hike in petrol prices Sky: RAC analysis found the average cost of a … [Read more...]
Provident is paying 4.2557p in the £
Quick overview Provident's Scheme of Arrangement is now in the final stages. The Scheme was proposed because Provident could not afford to carry on paying full refunds to customers winning affordability complaints. The Financial Ombudsman was upholding 75% of complaints against Provident. The FCA, Provident's regulator, said it did not approve of the Scheme. But as Provident has stopped … [Read more...]
Guarantor lender TFS Loans goes into administration
UPDATE: FCA fines TFS £880,000. On 10 June 2022, the FCA announced: TFS Loans Ltd (in administration) has been fined £811,900 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in relation to deficient affordability checks on 3,150 guarantors in its consumer credit business. The FCA has also imposed a requirement on TFS to redress the guarantors that were harmed by the firm not conducting appropriate … [Read more...]
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