Demsa

General update I did post an updated version of the DEMSA bulletin on LinkedIn last week. I have attached it if anyone is interested in sharing wider. This picks up on the next point of Ofgem. Ofgem Vulnerability Summit 2023 The week was ‘kicked off’ by a speech at the Ofgem Vulnerability Summit by Jonathan Brearley that may indicate some signs of action around wider data sharing and words turning into action. VRS followed up with Ofgem last Monday. We… Read more

General update Consumer Duty – through the eyes and ears of the consumer Personal insolvency statistics – March 2023 Hidden Harm – recording of Stop Loan Sharks England event Advantis Credit accredited for ISO 22458 – BSI event on 23 May 2023 Payment Systems Regulator Training – next VRS Consumer Duty dates Events General update Forced installation of prepayment energy meters banned for over 85s under new Ofgem code of practice All British domestic energy suppliers have signed up to… Read more

General update New MaPS Independent Quality Assessment Service (IQAS) Announced ‘Hidden Harm’ event review DMPs under Consumer Duty Financial Ombudsman Service – Plan 2023/24 Next VRS Consumer Duty Training – 18/4/2023 Events General update As the UK economy stalled again in February 2023, financial services firms are seeing a rise in default rates according to the Bank of England. In the 3 months to February 2023, lenders said that default rates on secured loans to households, such as mortgages, and… Read more

General update FCA Business Plan 2023/24 – published 5/4/2023 I circulated a bulletin on 5 April 2023 and published a thought piece on initial reading of the FCA Business Plan 2023/24 and welcome any feedback. It is clear that we will see a review of the debt advice sector again and that this may take several forms, though a Thematic Review is not inferred. Further data requests are probable. There is not much evidence of a ‘joined up’ approach with… Read more

Council tax, water and mobile bills rise for millions The new Standard Financial Statement (SFS) figures take effect next week for those that have this embedded in core systems.   The BBC is reporting the general rises in a range of essential expenditure items where pay rises and benefit increases will not keep pace. Water bills rise to an average of £448 today. Nationwide has reported a 3.1% fall in house prices in March 2023 whilst interest rates continue to… Read more

General update Interest rates rose again this week and Andrew Bailey has warned firms that raising prices could drive up the cost-of-living even further and would hurt the least well-off most. The rate rise to 4.25% was preceded by an unexpected rise in inflation to 10.4%. Two members of the MPC preferred to maintain Bank Rate at 4%. Twelve-month CPI inflation fell from 10.5% in December to 10.1% in January but then rose to 10.4% in February, 0.6% higher than… Read more