In 2015 the Competition and Markets Authority said that payday lenders have to advertise on at least one payday loan comparison website and provide a "prominent link" to the comparison site from their own website. The FCA consulted about what a payday loan comparison website should be doing and these were its decisions. This has now gone live. On Thursday 25 May 2017, the BBC reported: New … [Read more...]
Debt news and policy
Debt Camel articles on what's happening in the world of personal debt in Britain.
For my collections of other news items, please see Weekly News Summaries.
Huge increase in CCJs, up to 300,000 in first quarter 2017
Registry Trust has published the statistics for CCJs for the first quarter of 2017. They are shocking, with almost 300,000 consumer CCJs, the highest number for ten years. The details are: 298,901 CCJs were registered against consumers in England and Wales from January - March 2017; this is an increase of 35% on the same quarter in 2016; the average size of a CCJ fell to … [Read more...]
Why debt advisers should take the IMA’s Certificate of Money Advice Practice
The Institute of Money Adviser's Certificate of Money Advice Practice (CertMAP) is a qualification for people who are already working or volunteering as money advisers. You need to have a year's full-time experience or two years part-time. The course is provided by the IMA jointly with Staffordshire University. About 1,300 people have attained the CertMAP qualification, which is accredited by the … [Read more...]
PPI claims after your IVA has finished
In March 2017, the Court of Appeal decision in the Green v Wright case was published: Mr Wright's IVA firm was allowed to collect PPI after his IVA ended, even though he hadn't consented to this before his completion certificate was issued. As questions about this continue to arrive, I thought it would be useful to summarise the current situation: what is clear and what is less clear. The … [Read more...]
245,000 Wonga customers told their details may have been stolen
Wonga has started contacting 245,000 customers on 8th April 2017 by email to warn them their personal and financial details may have stolen. Professor Alan Woodward, a cybersecurity expert, said it was "looking like one of the biggest" data breaches involving financial information in Britain. A few days later it also started sending out text messages. This problem isn't just affecting people … [Read more...]
Should Creditfix use the promise of early exit loans to sell IVAs?
Mr D asked: I was contacted by company called Creditfix to clear my debts in an IVA. I have about £30,000 debt (two loans, some credit cards, overdraft) and the advisor calculated my options. I was told 2 and half years of paying £150 a month, then get a £4,500 loan to pay rest. Is that ok??? * I don't know if an IVA is a good option for Mr D. He needs to decide if he can commit to the IVA … [Read more...]
Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims now final
In March 2017 the Pre Action Protocol for Debt was at long finalised, it's here: Debt PAP. It comes into force on 1st October 2017. It has taken many years of negotiations, consultations and delays to get here. I've asked a couple of experts for their reaction to the news. Tim Lett, who has been involved for the last four years in getting this protocol agreed, writes: I am very … [Read more...]
Have you had bailiff problems? Add your voice to the call for reform
In 2017, far too many people still have bailiff problems, despite the new bailiff rules, known as Taking Control of Goods, that were introduced three years ago in 2014. The news story in May 2017, Debt-ridden courier's suicide after bailiff visit prompts call for reforms is dreadful. No-one in should feel under so much pressure and this was for what were originally two small parking debts. And … [Read more...]
Who were the biggest IVA firms in 2016?
Here is the League Table for IVA firms last year, showing all firms that registered more than 500 IVAs in 2016. The data comes from the Insolvency Service, it was supplied to Louise Yates. I previously published a half-year table for 2016 - this article replaces that one now the information for the full year is available. The previous statistics for 2015 were discussed here. The up/down … [Read more...]
PPI – Aug 2019 deadline set & refunds for excessive commission
On 2nd March the FCA announced two new rules for PPI complaints: a deadline is set of 29 August 2019. Any complaint about PPI mis-selling must start before this date. paying too much commission is unfair. Most people paid more than 50% commission and will now be able to get refund of some of their PPI payments. These complaints are sometimes called "Plevin complaints". Complain before … [Read more...]
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