Industry Insights

t the end of last month, we passed our anniversary. We were formed in 1891 by a small group of retailers and lenders that saw the need for new regulated credit products. This was well before the Consumer Credit Act, so we were involved in the development of the regulation around Hire Purchase and similar regulations as we moved into …

THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS IS CHANGING THE FACE OF DEBT “Problem debt only affects people on low incomes”. That’s a misconception we hear at StepChange Debt Charity on a regular basis. But now more than ever, it’s just not the reality we see every day. The unprecedented squeeze on consumers caused by the cost of living crisis is changing …

From streamlined collections for lenders to increased financial control and tailored repayment options for borrowers, including open banking payments as part of a customer-centric collections strategy is paving the way for a more inclusive and secure lending ecosystem. But what are the practical applications of open banking in the credit collections process? The majority of individuals in the UK currently …

Designed to ensure higher and clearer standards for consumer protection, the new Consumer Duty regulation requires firms to take decisive action. Despite the initial consultation finding that many organisations were happy to embrace these changes, it was also acknowledged that extensive programmes of work would be required. In fact, the FCA identified thirty firms that needed to do more, with …

It’s been just over three months since the FCA published its report on borrowers in financial difficulty (BiFD) in November 2022. Prior to this report, in June 2022 the FCA published a Dear CEO letter on this very topic, telling more than 3,500 lenders how they expect them to support borrowers who may be struggling due to the rising cost …

Fuelled by the pandemic, the consumer finance and lending landscape has changed dramatically in recent years. The demands of today’s tech-literate population are higher than ever, and consumers expect a streamlined end-to-end payment experience. With Direct Debit often used as the default payment method, are lenders missing out on an opportunity to grow their customer base and increase conversion by …

Data On Demand take a look at the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis focusing on the changing impact to consumers, what firms can do to help and what their own insights show. IMPACT ON CONSUMERS The challenges facing firms in 2023 on how best to support their customers will be no less challenging than the ones faced in 2022 which …

Auto Trader has been authorised by the FCA, with permissions to be a credit broker, since 2016. In 2017, we launched our dealer finance product and now 74% of our retailer partners offer finance products through our platform. We have also offered valuation pricing insights since 2013 and categorise these into retail, trade, private and part-exchange valuation types. With 13,000 …

The Sheriff Appeal Court (SAC) recently considered whether a hirer under a hire purchase agreement was entitled to rely upon his rejection of a motor vehicle when he had continued to use the vehicle after rejecting it. THE BACKGROUND Black Horse supplied Mr King with a motor vehicle under a hire purchase agreement in June 2019. In October 2020, Mr …

Many readers will be aware that a Bank arrestment is a commonly used enforcement tool in Scotland post the granting of a Decree (Judgement) for payment. It allows a creditor to secure any funds (over and above the statutory protected minimum balance) in a debtor or customer’s bank account and can be a valuable recovery option if the timing is …

You may recall the claims management regulator was a unit of the Ministry of Justice and it regulated companies providing claims management services to England and Wales. Its regulatory responsibilities – which lie within the FCA Handbook under Conduct of Business sourcebook – passed over to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 1 April 2019, and this was recently tested …

There is no doubt that Consumer Duty has been our primary focus for over a year now, and you will have heard about the activities, events, and engagements we are carrying out to support our members with the Duty. However, I want to move away from this for now and update our members on other key regulatory and legislative matters …