Industry News

Times Investigation Reveals Worrying Inconsistencies in the Standard of Debt Advice

Personal Debt Reaches £1.46trn

Statistics released by money advice charity Credit Action reveal that total UK personal debt increased 0.7 per cent in the 12 months up to the end of November 2009 to £1.46trn. However, bucking the long-term trend, consumer credit lending actually fell by a net £400m during the month of November as banks continued to tighten […]

Ministry of Justice Issues Debt Management Guidelines

MOJ have published Debt Management guidelines for UK consumers in the wake of a steep rise in the number of formal investigations in the market. Since April 2008 the OFT has undertaken 24 formal actions, including revoking licenses held by debt management businesses. As well as highlighting the advantages of debt management plans such as […]

House Repossessions On The Rise

The number of new repossessions in the third quarter of 2009 reached 14,000 in a 2.8 per cent rise on the previous three months, data from the Financial Services Authority reveals. The FSA’s data on UK mortgage lending shows that this number of repossessions was five per cent below the peak at the start of […]

TV’s Secret Millionaire Goes Into An IVA

Chek Whyte, who appeared on Channel 4’s Secret Millionaire has succeeded in striking a deal with creditors that could save him from bankruptcy. His creditors yesterday voted for a new Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) that pledges Mr Whyte will pay back debts owed over a period of time. The property developer, whose businesses have debts […]

Councils Urged To Partner Debt Charities In Wake Of Ombudsman Criticism

Local authorities can avoid heavy-handed treatment of Council Tax arrears – criticised by the Local Government Ombudsman this week – by partnering with recognised debt advice services to help deal with the underlying problem. UK registered charity The Debt Advice Foundation issued its advice following two announcements from the Ombudsman this week, in which Newham […]

Government To Consider Tighter Debt Management Regulation

The Ministry of Justice has launched a consultation process on the regulation of debt management companies. The consultation paper will explore whether regulated schemes should be introduced, how they would work and whether tighter non-statutory regulation of current schemes would be more appropriate. Debt Advice Foundation welcomes the move, which combines two of the charity’s […]

Numbers Seeking Debt Advice Soars

New figures show Citizens Advice Bureaux in England and Wales dealing with 9,300 requests for debt advice every working day. This is a 27% increase in the three months to the end of June 2009 compared with the same period last year.

British Actor Neil Morrissey Enters an IVA

Actor Neil Morrissey has entered an IVA after admitting to having debts totaling £2.5m. Neil’s portfolio of property and commercial enterprises failed to perform, leaving him insolvent and facing bankruptcy. But Morrissey said “Bankruptcy’s the easy way out. I decided no, I’d step up to the plate, try to do the right thing and get […]