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Debt Talk: DRO or IVA? That is the question...(Podcast)

Debt Talk: DRO or IVA? That is the question...(Podcast) One in 422 adults entered insolvency between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023. The economic factor is crucial in considering bankruptcy for many individuals, particularly when personal Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVA) and Debt Relief Orders (DRO) are concerned. In this episode of the Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored: ‘DRO or IVA? That is really the question...’ Sara Williams , the founder of  Debt Camel , began the conversation by looking at the history of bankruptcy and IVA leading up to the introduction of DRO in 2009, the commercial drive for many IVA providers to solely provide the only option who do not consider the interest of consumers through to its sales tactics and providing misleading information to entice consumers. There are early IVAs termination due to unsustainability for many low-income households. She also provided recommendations for short and long-term changes to regulations to consider for the intere
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Monthly Debt News (Sept 2023)

  (Sept 2023) Monthly Debt News looks at debts and the causes of debts in Britain from various sources selected for professionals to make the debt sector simple. This month’s Debt News includes further welfare cuts, the rise in council tenant rent arrears,   loss of benefits due to overpayment recovery, and a man in debt due to dental costs abroad. And  finally, bitesize stats.    ——————— Welfare cuts loom after forecast for inflation to climb again Jeremy Hunt has been told that the increase is likely to have been driven by surging wages and an increase in the cost of clothing. The Treasury is braced for a surprise increase in inflation this summer, posing a headache for Jeremy Hunt in his attempt to curb government spending. More here: Link    ——————— Council housing rent arrears rise significantly, survey finds Four in five council landlords are seeing significant rises in rent arrears, a survey has found More here: Link  ——————— Thousands lose benefits after tax credits overpaid C

Debt Talk: The cost of financial exclusion (podcast)

There are 17.5 million people in financially vulnerable circumstances, one in three adults in the UK. Some of these vulnerabilities can be seen in the form of financial exclusion. In this episode, Ripon Ray discusses: ‘ The cost of financial exclusion’ . To navigate the Debt Talk podcast topic, panellists were from a financial inclusion funder, a debt crisis and money training social enterprise, and a household debt campaigner. Diane Burridge , Community Finance Propositions and Segmentation Lead for Fair4AllFinance, develops strategies for financial inclusion projects and provides funds. She focused on supporting innovation to reduce financial exclusion by undertaking research and working with various third organisations to promote ways to make the financial services sector fair. Jerry During MBE , Co-Founder of Money A and E, a community money and debt advice organisation in London, emphasised the need to form partnerships with community groups and government agencies to help change

Monthly Debt News (Aug 2023)

(Aug 2023) Monthly Debt News looks at debts and the causes of debts in Britain from various sources selected for professionals to make the debt sector simple. This month’s Debt News includes: the cost of living increase in shoplifting, families struggle with the cost of child care, a rise in the number of clients seeking breathing space, a man in debt for driving in London’s low emission zone, student debt 3 times high in England than Scotland and car repossession rise. Finally, bite-size stats on insolvencies, Breathing Space registration, crisis due to food cost and disqualification of directors by insolvency services . ——————— ——————— The cost of living crisis sees supermarket shoplifting SOAR by 75% Desperate Brits are resorting to pinching essentials as data shows police saw as much as a 75% hike in shoplifting reports - use our interactive map to see how your area was affected. Shoplifting callouts to supermarkets rose by as much as 75% last year as the cost of living crisis saw

Debt Talk: AI, financial services & debt sector (podcast)

Do you know about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and, most importantly, AI within the financial services and debt sector? In the Debt Talk podcast,  Ripon Ray  explored the subject with experts from academia, visionaries and tech gurus as they spoke about the actual workings of AI in the financial services and debt sector. Prof  Carmine Ventre   - Director of  King's College London  Institute for Artificial Intelligence - explained the history of AI, machine learning and the algorithm required to create a tool where AI is weak and strong. He emphasised that AI machines require feeding with information and patterns from humans to complete tasks. Douglas Silverstone  - Director of  Southern Housing  and tech visionary, looked at the use of AI for social purposes and emphasised the genuine operational and organisational need to establish AI to be successful with the ultimate user in mind. Rachel Curtis  - CEO of  Inicio AI , a debt recovery firm that uses AI to complete affordability

Monthly Debt News (July 2023)

(July 2023) Monthly Debt News looks at debts and the causes of debts in Britain from various sources selected for professionals to make the debt sector simple. This month’s Debt News includes: Debt collectors illicitly obtained French citizens data -  Ofgem brings measures for debt recovery - UK household pay down  mortgage and use savings - FCA introduced mortgage breathing space - UK Govt renationalising Thames Water.  Finally, bite-size stats on student loans, universal credit fraud, financial exclusion and renters in poverty. ---------------- Debt collector of UK fines ‘illicitly’ got data of drivers in France That is the claim of 102 plaintiffs who have filed a complaint over fines relating to low-emission zones in London  More here:  link   ---------------- Ofgem proposes £13 allowance in PPM price cap for energy suppliers The measure is part of Ofgem’s new plan to protect PPM customers and help energy suppliers recover bad debts. Energy regulator Ofgem has today announced n