In January, HM Revenue & Customs will begin reducing child benefit payments for residents earning at least £50,000. More than one million families will be taxed if they continue to claim this benefit next year. The changes could cost nearly £2,500 a year for a family with three children and many families do not have … Read more
A prepayment meter often becomes a necessary piece of equipment for people in debt. Approximately 5.9 million UK residents have an energy prepayment meter, either voluntarily or at the discretion of their energy providers. This meter is installed in the home and the resident must pay for gas or electricity upfront by topping up their … Read more
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) released data last week confirming that disposable income is declining for the average adult in the UK and recently fell to its 2003 level. Disposable income is measured as cash available after-tax payments are made. The ONS also measures real actual income per person, adjusted for inflation. This figure … Read more
A recent article in a Scottish newspaper focused on the bankruptcy exploitation of residents in debt. Credit union representative was particularly outspoken regarding high fees and improper advice provided by organizations in business to assist debtors. Providers of debt management plans (DMPS) were also mentioned in this article. However, most of the blame was focused … Read more
The number of fraudulent mortgage applications has been increasing since 2006. Currently, 34 of every 10,000 UK mortgage applications are fraudulent. This is more than double the rate of just five years ago. Misrepresentation of personal information is the most common type of mortgage fraud. This is causing some debt management companies to worry that … Read more
The Consumer Finance Association (CFA) is an industry trade body that has received numerous political complaints regarding payday lender practices. In response, it recently published a study that depicts politicians as lacking knowledge of payday loan benefits. The study also claims that these lawmakers do not have their fingers on the pulse of the payday … Read more