In April 2021, Barclaycard is cutting a lot of customers' credit limits. Some of the reductions are dramatic. Here is what one Debt Camel reader said: Today I received a letter from Barclaycard informing me my credit limit is being reduced from £5,000 to £250 in 1 months time. My balance is zero and has been for several months. Not very happy about this as it’s there for emergencies etc and … [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.
And for my weekly round-ups of debt and poverty news items, see Weekly News Summaries.
“Lower interest if your credit score improves” – a good idea?
Many people are frustrated by only being to access expensive credit. Their financial problems may be years in the past, but they still cannot borrow at a reasonable rate. The FCA's Woolard Review said in January 2021: Products or business models which aim to help consumers bridge from sub-prime to near-prime or mainstream have an important role to play in expanding access to credit, and … [Read more...]
Will Amigo’s Scheme reject too many claims?
On 24 March 2021, Amigo announced some feedback from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on its proposed Scheme of Arrangement. Full details have now been given - the FCA's Letter of Concerns was published on 31 March 2022. This said: the FCA considers that the Scheme ... may not be compatible with the FCA's rules, principles and strategic objectives. In particular, the FCA is concerned … [Read more...]
Amigo’s Scheme – how to vote & timetable for approval
You can now vote on Amigo's Scheme. 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 will go into administration if the Scheme is not approved. Amigo says customers may get a cash refund of about 10% of their proper refund value. I think the amount may be lower. Customers with a current loan, however, … [Read more...]
Amigo should end unpaid interest deductions and remove CCJs
I asked Amigo about some details of the redress people will get if they make a claim to the proposed Scheme and Amigo upholds the claim. Amigo has had a complete change in its Board of Directors. It now likes to suggest that it will be handling complaints much better. But the answers to my questions are disturbing. The "unpaid interest" deduction Amigo applies this when it has decided a … [Read more...]
Provident’s Scheme – will customers get less than 2% ?
In my summary of the Provident's proposed Scheme, published on 15 March, I said I would be looking at some aspects of it in more detail. The £50m the company is putting up to pay refunds is not nearly enough to pay everyone. The whole point of the Scheme for Provident is that it will cost it less than if it were to pay full refunds. This article looks at how much customers might hope … [Read more...]
Provident proposes a Scheme to cap refunds
On 15 March 2021 Provident Financial Group (PFG) announced it is proposing a Scheme of Arrangement to reduce the refunds it has to pay to customers. They are the second major lender to seek refuge in a Scheme - Amigo is also proposing one. The PFG announcement also said that the FCA has started an investigation into Provident's affordability assessments and complaint handling since February … [Read more...]
Chief Ombudsman Caroline Wayman resigns
Caroline Wayman, the Chief Ombudsman and CEO at the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) has resigned, announcing on 10 March 2021 on LinkedIn that: After 22 years at the service and nearly 7 years as chief executive and chief ombudsman I am stepping down from the role. Her resignation comes the day after a highly critical article in the Daily Mail which pointed out: Fraud victims and cheated … [Read more...]
Amigo & Provident complaints soar – new Ombudsman data
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...]
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...]
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