A wide range of help across a broad range of consumer debts is being put into place. "Consumer debts" are things like loans, credit cards, car finance, overdrafts and mortgages. They are all regulated by the FCA. This page doesn't cover government debts or utilities - see Coronovirus - can't pay bills and debts for what is happening with those. In April the FCA introduced a set of measures … [Read more...]
Covid-19 – you can now get a second 3 month mortgage payment break
All mortgage lenders will provide a three-month mortgage payment holiday for borrowers whose household finances are affected by coronavirus. By May 2020, 1.8 million people had taken a mortgage payment holiday. If you have already had one and your finances are still affected, you can now ask for a further three months. You need to ask your lender for a payment holiday You have to ask … [Read more...]
MaPS to give £38 million more for debt advice – it’s badly needed!
The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) has announced an increase in its budget for debt support in England in 2020/21 by £38million. And an additional £5.9 million is being allocated to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This new money is in addition to the existing MaPS budget for debt advice of £64 million. It will come from a combination of government funds, reallocated MaPS budget and … [Read more...]
Coronavirus & the reform of Personal Insolvency in England
This article builds on the arguments I put forward in Coronavirus – how the debt advice sector should be planning, looking at one area that needs to be tackled urgently - personal insolvency. Coronavirus will cause a large increase in the numbers of people who should choose insolvency over the next couple of years. I am not trying to predict how many, but it is likely to be large enough to … [Read more...]
Coronavirus – how the debt advice sector should be planning
As lockdown is gradually phased out and furlough payments eventually stop, many people will not be able to return to their pre-Coronavirus situation of being able to manage their debts and bills. Now is the time the debt advice sector should be considering how to prepare for the large demand it may face and what may need to change. We don't know how many people will have problems We don't … [Read more...]
Credit Ladder – can renting boost your credit rating?
UPDATE - Coronavirus If you can't manage to pay your full rent because of Coronavirus problems, I think you should consider cancelling Credit Ladder. In theory you can get your landlord to agree to lower payments and to tell Credit Ladder - if your landlord does this the lower amount will still be visible on your credit record but there is no late/missed payment amount. it seems to me to be … [Read more...]
Coronavirus & payday loans – 1 month break with no interest
A different approach for payday loans On 24 April the FCA published its guidance for payday lenders on customers with Coronavirus difficulties. With other types of credit, customers can have three month payment breaks but interest continues to be added during these breaks. This applies to mortgages, unsecured loans and credit cards, and car finance. But the FCA has taken a very different … [Read more...]
Coronavirus – new rules to help people in IVAs
On April 17, the Insolvency Service published Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidance for the Straightforward Consumer IVA Protocol. This guidance allows for greater flexibility to be applied to IVAs where the borrower has problems because of Coronavirus. An IVA firm can always go back to your creditors and ask them to approve changes to your IVA. This is called "a variation" but it can be a slow … [Read more...]
3 month car finance payment breaks because of Coronavirus
On 17 April the FCA published its proposed guidance for car finance lenders on how they should respond to customers who are affected by coronavirus. Earlier this week FCA guidance for unsecured loans came into force. Car finance wasn't included with that as the FCA said it wanted to look at it separately. Now we have the details of what the FCA is proposing for car finance. It broadly … [Read more...]
Coronavirus – what to do if you can’t pay bills & debts
You may be very worried about how you will cope if your income drops a lot because of coronavirus. This article looks at what you can do if you think your bills and debt repayments will be unmanageable. Things are changing fast: every week different sorts of help are being announced. On 9 April the regulator announced that people can get 3 month payment holidays for most sorts of loans and … [Read more...]