On 27 January the Insolvency Service published the data on insolvency in 2016. The number of people who became insolvent in England and Wales last year was 90,930. As the graph above shows, this has reversed the trend of personal insolvency numbers falling every year: the total for 2016 is over 13% higher than in 2015, the first time there has been a rise since 2009. Bank of England statistics … [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.
Debt Clever – trying to profit from closing down?
The FCA says that over a hundred debt management firms who applied for authorisation have been refused or have withdrawn their application. In September 2016, Debt Clever became one of these firms. Some firms that are closing are looking for ways to continue to make money from their clients. My previous article, Why the FCA should ban the Compass debt advice model, has some examples. This … [Read more...]
Pensions safe in bankruptcy after Appeal Court decision
Following an Appeal Court ruling on Horton vs Henry, published in October 2016, pensions are once again safe if you go bankrupt. The full judgment is here. The background to this case was: before 2000, pensions formed part of a bankrupt's estate and would be taken once the bankrupt reached pension age; the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act changed this. For people going bankrupt after … [Read more...]
IVA lead generators – the case for regulation
IVAs are now the most common form of personal insolvency in England. Clear Debt has recently stated: Individual Voluntary Arrangements) (IVAs) have become the procedure of choice for those people who have debts they can’t pay and a regular income to enable them to make contributions to their debts. But how often is the choice of an IVA based on accurate information about the alternatives and … [Read more...]
IVA early exit loans – Perinta/Creditfix and Sprout/Aperture
Early IVA exit loans from Perinta offered in 2016 to Creditfix customers Some people have been told they can end their IVA by taking an "early exit loan" from Perinta Finance Ltd, via a broker called Just Lending. Creditfix is sending these emails, but the loan may be available to people in IVAs with other firms. Pearse Flynn, the CEO of Creditfix, used to be a director of Perinta, but no longer … [Read more...]
Paying BadDebtor won’t help your credit record
A reader who had gone bankrupt recently was surprised to get a letter from "The Register of Bad Debtors". This offered to remove her name from their records if she pays them £49.95. She asked if BadDebtor can really do this? There are also reports that people with IVAs are receiving similar letters. In 2017 the Bad Debtor website was taken down. Before that, some people I had contacted - none … [Read more...]
Re-thinking Insolvency Practitioner Regulation
This is a guest post by Peter Sargent, an Insolvency Practitioner and Consultant at BHP Clough Corporate Solutions. He is a member of the IPA’s Membership & Authorisation Committee and former president of R3. The failure of Varden Nuttall (and its holding company), a middle ground IVA bulk provider has brought into sharp relief the current system of Insolvency Practitioner (IP) … [Read more...]
The 2016 IVA Protocol – what has changed?
In June the new 2016 IVA Protocol was published. It would have be helpful if the Standing Committee had issued a guide to the changes from the 2014 Protocol, but they haven't, so this article looks at the significant changes, ignoring routine updating (such as replacing OFT by FCA) and some which seem to me to be very minor. My thanks to Michelle Butler who wrote about the changes earlier this … [Read more...]
Interest only mortgages and debt advice
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who regulates the mortgage lenders, issued an update in 2018 saying they are still concerned about the number of interest-only mortgages customers will not be able to repay at the end. It said: Since 2013 good progress has been made in reducing the number of people with interest-only mortgages. However, we are very concerned that a significant number of … [Read more...]
Wonga refunds – what happened before administration
This page covered the complaints and refunds process before Wonga went under on 30 August. Events in August 2018 August 4 - Wonga forced to ask investors for £10million in funding as the cost of affordability complaints increases. 26 August - news reports that Wonga was in trouble. Sky News reported that: Directors of the payday lender Wonga could appoint Grant Thornton as the … [Read more...]