Credit management veteran reflects on the pandemic: ‘Have you had a good crisis?’ November 11, 2021 Colin Storrar, the CEO of Lowell, one of the UK’s largest credit management companies, returns my question with a question, or rather a series of questions, when asked about his priorities since the first national lockdown was announced. “How have you treated your people this crisis? Have you thought about their work environment? Have you [...]
Perpetual debt is already here October 12, 2021 | City Talk “Be still indebted to somebody or other, that there may be somebody always to pray for you, [. . .] fearing, if fortune should deal crossly with you, that it might be his chance to come short of being paid by you.” François Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel, Book III Pundits worldwide are debating what to do with [...]
A third of gig economy couriers and delivery drivers have no savings June 9, 2021 Around 30 per cent of gig economy drivers, riders and couriers across Europe had no savings in the first half of 2021. Almost half of the 10,000 workers surveyed had experienced a claimable event such as an accident. Of these, only 12 per cent had actually made a claim and 69 per cent had a [...]
Boris bad credit score: PM rejects court ruling over £535 in unpaid debt May 12, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected a court ruling that found he has an unpaid debt of £535. The court records listed Johnson at his official address, 10 Downing Street, according to Reuters today. Johnson’s office have said they will ask for the ruling to be removed from his record as it was “totally without merit”. [...]
Those in debt to be given 60 days breathing space before enforcement action May 4, 2021 People in debt will be given 60 days to get their finances back on track without debts piling up, worrying letters or enforcement action, under a new government scheme. The scheme – called ‘Breathing Space’ – will give those in debt legal protections from their creditors for 60 days, with most interest and penalty charges [...]
Today final day for borrowers to apply for payment holiday on mortgages, cards and loans March 31, 2021 Borrowers have until the end of today to apply for a payment holiday on products such as mortgages, personal loans and credit cards. Eligible customers who have not taken a payment holiday before, and those who have previously had a payment deferral totalling less than six months, have until tonight to apply. Payment holidays are [...]
Exclusive: Londoners take out 133 per cent more payday loans to cover Christmas this year December 4, 2020 Pressure on households to overspend this Christmas is increasingly making Londoners resort to payday loans to cover the costs of the festive period. Payday loans in London are set to increase by 133 per cent as households struggle to cover the costs of the holidays, according to the findings of a survey that pan-European credit [...]
Why Open Banking is the next finance revolution January 15, 2020 The saying that the “customer is king” has been an accepted truism for a long time. But it is only recently that this has really been the case, with technology largely driving a shift of power away from traditional providers to the consumer. Think of how music streaming services like Spotify completely changed how we [...]
Credit providers must learn to embrace new technology August 8, 2019 Personal finance has a legacy problem. Until now, those who weren’t familiar with its inner workings have never truly understood financial products and services. A combination of technical jargon and a lack of clarity concerning the impact that certain decisions might have on a person’s credit rating has often left consumers very confused about exactly [...]
Young voters today care about far more than just tuition fees July 18, 2019 Student debt is, once again, pledge fodder as politicians jostle for power. Conservative leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt has promised to wipe student debt for successful entrepreneurs and reduce interest on loans, the Brexit Party has pledged to remove and reimburse interest altogether, while Labour has long vowed to scrap tuition fees entirely. It’s not hard [...]