Ms D asked about her options now the three credit card payment break has ended: I’ve come to the end of my 3 month payment freeze and as the card lender has kept adding on interest I have gone over my credit limit, so the first payment due was nearly £400. I contacted them as I couldn’t afford that amount -my partner is self-employed and not receiving any income due to coronavirus. They agreed … [Read more...]
Covid-19 – credit score protection, but will it be harder to get credit?
In March 2020 Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, the three big UK credit reference agencies, agreed that having a temporary "payment holiday" with a lender because of Coronavirus problems won't harm your credit score. The FCA, who regulates lenders in the UK, then set out detailed rules about payment breaks for most kinds of debt, including mortgages, unsecured loans, credit cards, catalogues, … [Read more...]
Covid-19 – you can have up to 6 months of mortgage breaks
UPDATE The first set of two three-month mortgage payment breaks ended at the end of October 2020. But the FCA later changed the rules so everyone can have a total of 6 months pf payment breaks. If you have already had 6 months mortgage payment break, this will not help you. See When mortgage payment breaks end, can you pay your mortgage? for what support your lender now has to give … [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...]
Coronavirus & payday loans – 1 month break with no interest
On 24 April 2020 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 approach with payday loans. The … [Read more...]
Coronavirus – a good excuse for slow complaint handling?
Some lenders are telling borrowers that it will take longer to respond to affordability complaints asking for refunds because of Coronavirus. You have a right to send a complaint to the Financial Ombudsman (FOS) after 8 weeks if the lender has not given you a Final Response. But should you let the lender have a few weeks extra? Most businesses are having some Coronavirus problems, so would … [Read more...]