Debt news – 10 January 2021

Was it really only Monday that we all went back into lockdown? This seems the longest week…

My pick of last week’s news is Ministers need to get a grip of the rent debt crisis.

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Tweet of the week

We need:
– an extension of the extra £20 for UC
– the benefit cap shelved & LHA raised
– bailiffs, evictions and repossession banned for 6 months
– mandatory forbearance for commercial credit
– write-offs of council tax, DWP, HMRC debt
– grants for rent arrears
– SMI sorted.

— Debt Camel (@DebtCamel) January 4, 2021

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Debt news

Rent arrears:

• New year, same arrears: How the pandemic is leaving private renters with unmanageable debt Citizens Advice research: 58% of people who are currently behind on
  rent weren’t in arrears before the crisis. 
• Eviction ban extended by government just three days before previous end date  Independent: campaigners point out how inadequate this is.
• Ministers need to get a grip of the rent debt crisis Joint statement by the National Residential Landlords Association, The Big Issue and Ride Out Recession Alliance, Shelter, ARLA Propertymark, the Nationwide Building Society, and StepChange
• Eviction Stay Redux NearlyLegal blog: points out the significant weakening of protection – 9 months arrears down to 6 months and “arrears arising from the impact of coronavirus would be counted“.

FCA publishes coronavirus financial resilience survey data FCA: “Our role isn’t to prevent firms failing. But where they do, we work to ensure this happens in an orderly way”.

Warning over ‘unmanageable debt’ after shoppers spent £2.3billion on buy now, pay later to help fund Christmas Sun: Those who opted for this payment method had an average bill of £170 – nearly 40% of their total Christmas spending.

Just Digital judgement Bailii: The Judge decided that the act of Parliament means that it is legal to have a Controlled Goods Agreement without physically going inside the home or business. The Act of Parliament allows rules to control how that happens if it wants and Parliament makes the rules. The judge decided that the rules which were made about Controlled Goods Agreements do not deal with some parts of what can happen after a Controlled Goods Agreement is agreed by video. The judge said that it was up to Parliament and the Government to consider if it wants to change the rules to give a procedure for a controlled goods agreement to be fully enforced. It is also up to Parliament and the Government to decide whether there should be any fees if there is a video agreement.

Debt Free London to offer debt and money advice 24 hours a day in response to London’s Covid Emergency DFL: Advice by phone, video link, WhatsApp and webchat.

Let’s create a better breathing space Detailed proposals from grass-roots debt advisers. Sign up to support them here.

Remortgaging at current rates could save homeowners £169 a month – so why are the majority not considering it? Mail: Despite the potential savings associated with remortgaging, TSB found that the majority of people, 89 per cent, were not considering it. 

Benefits & other news

Gavin Williamson snubbed offer of cheap broadband for kids Mirror: as early as spring 2020 BT asked the Department for Education to identify families who needed access to the internet, offering to provide them as a “priority” and at cost-price.

E.on prepay customers ‘left without heating’ after thousands of top-ups delayed MSE: The energy provider told MoneySavingExpert.com it’s experiencing “intermittent issues” with its online payment facilities for prepayment meter customers, who pay for energy on a pay-as-you-go basis in advance. 

Fake reviews are a serious problem Fairer Finance: “The best time to [get a good review for a product] is one minute after they’ve bought it.”

DWP changing Universal Credit deductions – full list of 2021 debt rules and repayments Birmingham Mail: CPAG said more than one million households forced to claim UC when coronavirus struck are entering the New Year with money docked from their UC.