Debt News (April 2024)

Monthly Debt News looks at debts and the causes of debts in Britain from a variety of sources selected for professionals to make the debt sector simple.

This month’s Debt News includes Thames Water hiring advisers amid fear of collapse, a student loan debt near £240,000, a debt relief orders fee axed, an increase in unsecured debts, fake debt collectors stealing money and Kate Garraway facing debt for her late husband’s care. There are also bite-sized statistics to give an overview of the causes of debts in Britain. You can also catch up with previous Debt Talk podcasts.

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Debt News

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Thames Water hires restructuring advisers amid fears of collapse

Thames Water has assembled a team of City experts to lead urgent restructuring talks this week amid fears that its parent company may collapse by the end of the month.

More here: Link

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UK’s highest student loan debt exceeds £230,000, new figures show

The graduate with the most unpaid student debt in the UK owes more than £231,000, while another loan holder racked up interest exceeding £50,000, according to new data.

More here: Link

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Average unsecured debt at its highest level in a decade in 2023'

The average unsecured debt was at its highest level in a decade in 2023, according to a charity. The main drivers of the concerning statistics include mounting pressure from the cost-of living-crisis, as well as higher amounts of credit card and personal loan debts.

More here: Link

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Debt relief orders: Fee of £90 axed for poorest

People on the lowest incomes will be able to apply to have their debts wiped out for free as rules change in April. Debt Relief Orders clear existing debt on everything from council tax to energy bills and rent.

More here: Link

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Fake debt collectors stole £410,000 from Northallerton businessman

The final member of a fake debt collecting agency who stole £410,000 from a North Yorkshire business owner has been jailed.

Liam Dinsdale, 38, of Varley Street, Colne, pressured the Northallerton businessman, aged in his 70s, into paying regular instalments of money.

More here: Link

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Kate Garraway has spoken out about the large debt she faces following the long-term care of her late husband Derek Draper.

The Good Morning Britain anchor took on significant care duties when Draper became seriously ill with COVID-19 in March 2020. After spending nearly 100 days in a coma, the former Labour lobbyist and psychotherapist remained in need of constant care for the rest of his life, from professionals and from Garraway.

More here: Link

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(Mar 2024) - Debt Talk: Consumer duty & debt sector (Podcast)

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Bite Size stats:

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Currently £20 billion a year is loaned to around 1.5 million students in England each year. The value of outstanding loans at the end of March 2023 reached £206 billion. The Government forecasts the value of outstanding loans to be around £460 billion (2021‑22 prices) by the mid-2040s. (House of Commons Library)

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Individuals repaid, on net, £1.1 billion of mortgage debt in January compared to £0.9 billion in December. (Bank of England)

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5 million people are in a negative budget, including 1.5 million children - this has increased by 54% since 2020-1 (Citizens Advice)

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(Feb 2024) - Debt Talk: Council finance, tax and debt recovery (Podcast)

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A debt free path for a mental health sufferer

It’s a well-known fact that individuals who suffer from a hampered mental capacity - be it mental health or learning difficulties - are most likely to be vulnerable in our communities. They are also more likely to be victims of miss-sold products and services by companies, even though organisations that are providing financial products and services have a duty under the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to take extra care towards these individuals. This is what the FCA has to say about vulnerable customers: ‘ The vulnerability of the customer, in particular where the firm understands the customer has some form of mental capacity limitation or reasonably suspects this to be so because the customer displays indications of some form of mental capacity limitation (see ■ CONC 2.10) But due to a culture of intensive selling to consumers, generated by employers placing and enforcing - often difficult and unrealistic - performance goals wh...

Betar Bangla radio’s Ripon Ray: How fashionista turned political activist and debt advisor

PUBLISHED: 09:02 13 March 2019 | UPDATED: 09:03 13 March 2019 Emma Bartholomew Ripon Ray: Picture: Rukya Khan Debt advisor and radio talk show host Ripon Ray tells Emma Bartholomew how he’s seeing more and more people who are unable to just pay the basic bills Ripon Ray: Picture: Nick De Marco Self-confessed “arty-farty creative” Ripon Ray originally set out to be a fashionista in life, when he “found his calling” and changed track to become an activist. He’d been studying at the London School of Fashion, but going on an anti-fascist protest “triggered a couple of things”. “I dumped my studies and went to Kingsley College where I was doing full-on activism, and organising protest marches,” he told the Gazette . “I loved it but I got kicked out of there because I was too much of an activist and I wasn’t focusing on my studies.” He knuckled under, bagged a history degree and started out in the charity sector as a housing advi...

Debt Talk: The welfare state, deficit budget and debt (podcast)

On this month's Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray explored: 'The welfare state, deficit budget & debt '. Trussell Trust, a network of food banks in the UK, gave out nearly 3 million emergency food parcels to people facing financial hardship, and it has noticed a 37% rise in accessing its service compared to the previous year. The question for this month's panellists is: have we moved away from support provided by the state and diverted to the third sector? To assist Debt Talk, panellists for this month were the following: Helen Barnard - policy director of Trussell Trust, explained the welfare state's history and purpose and how the UK has significantly shifted away from its initial cause. Food banks are now playing the state's role because the current welfare system is not providing sufficient support to meet the needs of vulnerable and low-income households. The trust is seeing people with disability and working people seeking help because the current social se...

Your Doctor Debt: Ripon Ray

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