A new set of rules being introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will oblige credit card companies in the UK to help out customers who are persistently struggling to manage their debts.
Read moreThe Scottish government has backed plans to establish minimum prices per unit on all alcoholic beverages being sold throughout the country. After conducting an extensive public consultation on the associated issues, the government has said it now intends to stop alcoholic drinks being sold at anything less than 50 pence per unit. Hopes are that […]
Read moreMillions of British consumers are unaware of how much money they owe in relation to car loans they’ve taken out in recent years. According to the online automotive marketplace CarGurus, close to half (47 per cent) of all the people with car loans around the country can’t say how much they owe their creditors in […]
Read moreDebts will become more expensive and more difficult to service for consumers and families across the UK over the next five years, according to official forecasts put together by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR). The OBR has estimated that the cost of servicing household debts will rise by 29 per cent between the first […]
Read moreMPs in Westminster have said that millions of consumers throughout the UK are being ripped off by their energy suppliers and are paying higher prices for their gas and electricity than they should be. Members of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee have described Britain’s energy markets as being “broken” and made clear […]
Read moreThe number of UK consumers who can be described as having severe problem debts has reached an estimated 3.3 million. That’s according to the debt help charity StepChange, which is reporting that the number of people throughout the country with severe problem debt increased by roughly 405,000 during the final nine months of 2017. “Whilst […]
Read moreAs many as a third of the men and women currently in work around the UK consider themselves to be ‘just about managing’ from a financial perspective. That’s according to a research report by a thinktank called the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), which concludes that there are millions of people around the country who […]
Read moreThere was a notable increase in the number of people in Scotland entering into protected Trust Deeds during the final three months of last year as compared to the same period in 2016. According to the Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), the number of Scots using Trust Deeds as a means of tackling their debt problems […]
Read moreThe provision of debt advice has knock on effects for consumers throughout the UK in terms of their overall wellbeing and their productivity in the workplace. According to a new research report looking into the subject, the health benefits of debt advice and the associated support are worth in the region of £145 million to […]
Read moreMany of the poorest households around the UK are struggling to cope with their debts and the burden of making repayments on credit cards and personal loans each month. According to a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), while there are a great many Brits who can comfortably afford to service their debts, […]
Read moreCredit card debts are more difficult to escape from a borrower’s perspective than experts had previously understood to be the case. According to a trio of finance experts from the Bank of England and from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), official data in recent years has not taken full account of the extent to which […]
Read moreAn increasingly high proportion of Brits are relying on credit to fund their spending around Christmas time and the situation is leading to heightened stress levels for many thousands of people. Roughly 37 per cent of Brits expect to use credit to pay for Christmas gifts in 2017, which is a figure up from 33 […]
Read moreThere are in the region of 25,000 young people across the UK who can be classified as problem gamblers despite their tender age. That’s according to research carried out by the Gambling Commission, which is concerned that many thousands of British children are being exposed to gambling at a young age in situations and settings […]
Read moreScotland Debt Solutions’ director, Adam Southard, joined Dave Stewart on Kirkcaldy Community Radio this lunchtime to discuss how Scottish residents could avoid getting into debt this Christmas, as well as offering financial tips for the year ahead. Christmas can be notoriously expensive, and it is more important than ever to keep a tight reign of […]
Read moreThe overall scale of consumer debts owed by individuals throughout the UK are continuing to rise rapidly, according to the latest set of official lending figures from the Bank of England. Many thousands of people across the country are struggling to manage their debts and the total scale of consumer borrowing continues to grow at […]
Read moreThe foodbank charity group the Trussell Trust has said that demand for its services is “soaring” as a result of problems with the rollout of Universal Credit, the UK government’s flagship new benefits system. Universal Credit was created with the aim of simplifying the processes involved in administering a variety of different state benefit payments […]
Read moreConsumers across Scotland could be “stocking up” debt problems and heading for serious difficulties in the coming months or years. That’s according to Eileen Blackburn, who is chair of the technical committee for the insolvency trade body R3 in Scotland. The insolvency expert has said that while official figures show a decline in the number […]
Read moreAs many as six million people around the UK are fearful that they will never be free from debt at any point in their life. That’s according to research by the price comparison website comparethemarket.com, which has been looking into the nature and the scale of debt problems among consumers nationwide. The website says that […]
Read moreThe collective levels of unsecured debt across the UK are rising at a rate of close to £80 million every day, according to a new set of figures. Overdrafts, credit cards, student debts and car finance deals account for around 75 per cent of that growth, which is currently understood to be setting a pace […]
Read moreThe UK government has announced that it is aiming to help people struggling with problem debts by effectively giving them a six-week grace during which they would be protected from their creditors. Hopes are that a period of “breathing space” and a relief from creditor pressure will give people with mounting debts a chance to […]
Read moreYoung men and women across the UK are increasingly relying on credit to cover their essential expenses and often finding themselves struggling with serious debt problems as a consequence. That’s according to Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), whose role it is to regulate all financial markets across the country. Speaking […]
Read moreResearchers working with the Money Advice Service (MAS) have looked into connections between troublesome debts and mental health issues, with money worries emerging as a major cause of concern for millions of Brits. Very nearly half (49 per cent) of all adults in the UK are in some form of debt, with the average debt […]
Read moreThe Labour Party has pledged its commitment to a plan that would see the interest levels charged on credit card debts capped in the interests of consumer protection. According to Labour’s shadow chancellor John McDonnell, his party would introduce caps as a means of tackling what he described during a recent speech as being a […]
Read moreAs many as one in every six adults living in the UK are faced with financial challenges that amount to them being in ‘problem debt’. That’s according to figures from the Money Advice Service, which was set up by the UK government and keeps track of the financial difficulties being faced by individuals and families […]
Read moreThe number of families across the UK who do not have their own permanent homes has increased by as much as 60 per cent since 2010/11. That’s according to the National Audit Office (NAO), which has been tracking the number of people who find themselves living in insecure or temporary accommodation. In addition to a […]
Read moreA series of new business rates rules are to be introduced in Scotland in an effort that ministers north of the border hope will help make the country the most competitive in the UK when it comes to attracting investment. Derek Mackay, finance minister for the Scottish government, has said that business rates will be […]
Read moreA total of close to 60,000 people employed directly or indirectly through activity in the UK’s oil and gas sector lost their jobs over the course of last year. That’s according to the trade body for the sector Oil & Gas UK, which had previously estimated that roughly 40,000 jobs might have been lost in […]
Read moreNicola Sturgeon has announced that she will scrap the 1 per cent cap on pay in the public sector across Scotland. The first minister has said that frontline public sector employees, whose pay has been restrained across the UK for a number of years, “deserve a fairer deal for the future”. Nurses, police officers, firefighters […]
Read moreDebt relating to funeral costs has never been higher across the UK as a whole and the issue is now a significant cause of financial problems for many thousands of individuals and families. A total of close to £160 million is collectively owed as debt relating to funeral costs around the country, according to the […]
Read moreThe overall scale of consumer debt across the UK continues to rise at a rapid rate despite the pace of growth having slowed slightly during July. Official figures released by the Bank of England show that the pace of borrowing growth cooled in recent weeks but the country’s debt pile continues to rise at an […]
Read moreA new report from the homelessness charity Shelter has outlined the extent to which Scotland is experiencing a housing crisis and just how many people across the country are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. According to the charity, its Scotland-based advisers were busier than ever during the 12 months between April 2016 […]
Read moreEnergy consumers across the UK were overcharged by their energy suppliers in recent quarters by a collective total of over £100 million. That’s according to the price comparison and switching service uSwitch, whose figures suggest that roughly 1.3 million British consumers were overcharged by their gas and electricity suppliers in the 12 months prior to […]
Read moreRenters aged between 25 and 34 throughout the UK are among the country’s most financially at-risk people and are collectively a heavily indebted generation. That’s according to a report compiled by the insurance firm LV=, which suggests that 44 per cent of renters in the ‘late-Millennial’ category aren’t confident of their ability to cope with […]
Read moreThe Lloyds Banking Group has announced details of an overhaul to its policies around current account overdrafts and the associated charges and fees. Lloyds owns several of the UK’s leading high street banking operations, including the Bank of Scotland, and has millions of customers throughout the country. The group has said that it will abolish […]
Read moreThe average scale of debts accounted for by household bills and essential costs has trebled over the course of the past 10 years in the UK.
Read moreNew rules have come into force that require payday lenders to advertise their offers to customers via at least one price comparison website.
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