Industry Insights

Inflation is biting. Food, petrol and energy bills – the essentials for many are rising at rates not seen for a generation. Many households are struggling and will continue to have to make some difficult choices through these challenging times. The demand for credit is therefore likely to rise, as is the support that existing borrowers are likely to require. …

Fraud in the UK has reached epidemic levels. It’s estimated that there were 3.8 million fraud offences in England and Wales in the year ending June 2019, the scale of which was experienced by Cifas members. The National Fraud Database, which Cifas operates, received a case of fraudulent conduct committed against a member organisation every two minutes on average in …

As 2022 gets properly gets underway, I am celebrating my first year completed in the role of Chief Executive of the CCTA. It has been an unusual year with the pandemic, but I am pleased to say that the numbers have remained strong, and we have managed to introduce a series of changes. So, I should start by thanking our …

Owing to the strains anticipated on households this coming year, 2022 has been named “the Year of the Squeeze” by the Resolution Foundation (an independent think-tank focused on improving living standards for those on low to middle incomes). This comes as no surprise as the new social care levy is applied to national insurance contributions, personal tax allowances are frozen …

The Treasury’s consultation on Buy-Now Pay-Later (BNPL) has recently closed. This consultation sought opinions about the Treasury’s plans to bring the product into regulation, following the findings from the Woolard Review, which highlighted the risk of consumer detriment. It included different policy options on how best to achieve ‘a proportionate approach to regulation of BNPL’. While the Treasury considers the …

Wellbeing has long been a focus for many organisations in the financial sector. Wellbeing hubs can offer employees and customers a wide range of helpful support and services from exercise and nutrition to sleep and mental wellbeing. Often though, organisations have not given as much consideration to a critical piece of the jigsaw, Financial Wellbeing. At some stage, most of …

In the context of debt recovery litigation, the obtaining of a decree (judgment) should not be an end in itself and this is particularly true in relation to volume debt recovery litigation. The purpose of a court decree is to enable the creditor to obtain payment from his debtor of the sums of principal, interest and expenses (legal costs) due …

BACKGROUND The dispute involved former director of consumer watchdog ‘Which?’, Mr Lloyd against Google LLC alleging breach of duties as data controller under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA). Mr Lloyd alleged that Google had been secretly tracking online activity of millions of iPhone users and had used the data for commercial purposes without the users’ knowledge/consent. He sought to …

The start of 2022 sees the continuation of the Civil Justice Council review of the pre-action protocols (PAP), which may result in changes to the process. While some would be welcomed, others may present significant challenges to the debt collections industry. There are four key areas which are being looked at for debt claims; however, one key message should absolutely …

Lending money is what you do. Swapping your lender hat for a borrower one requires careful consideration. Navigating the various funding options available with the specialist lenders in the market is about finding the best fit for your business. And what about raising funds via issuing shares? The following sets out the pros and cons of common funding options for …

There is quite often an assumption, that as all businesses offering financial services are regulated by the same governing body (the FCA), they’re all delivering the same level of service … wrong! The need for the new Consumer Duty reflects that whilst there is a basic standard that is required of firms, the bar can, should and has to be …

The media has recently been flooded with government and royal scandals and, while the fuel crisis has received some airtime, the potential impact on millions of households has not received the publicity it merits. The decision of to ‘Eat or Heat’ is a very real threat to many. The negative impact on household expenditure a risk to us all. It …