 |
Archive for the ‘Financial News’ Category
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
South African landlords who collect rent arrears have now been placed under the scope of the Debt Collectors Act, according to property management group Trafalgar.
Managing Director of Trafalgar, Andrews Schaefar, said “Landlords battling with late-paying tenants and bodies corporate struggling to retrieve levies can now welcome two recent landmark decisions by the Council for Debt Collectors that clearly rule property managers collecting arrears levies and rentals fall within the scope of the Debt Collectors Act.”
Under the new rulings, all estate agents and property managers who collect rental arrears and levies must be registered with the Council for Debt Collector. This will help regulate any unscrupulous behaviour that may have entered the South African debt collection industry.
“The move has highlighted compliance with the Council for Debt Collectors and associated legislation as being necessary for compliance and transparency,” continued Richard Schaefar.
As a direct result, this move should encourage debtors to improve their individual situation in order to avoid these enforceable penalties.
Schaefer said the Council for Debt Collectors was established to bring clarity to a previously unregulated industry following numerous public complaints laid with the department of justice against debt collectors.
“The Debt Collectors Act provides control over debt collectors and legalises the South African collection system by monitoring their conduct and professionalism and thus promoting a culture of good governance.”
Schaefer said the act worked both ways.
“Tenants who believe they are receiving unfair bias can lay a complaint with the Council and both sides will be heard before a judgment is passed.”
Mr Schaefar then added that a recent decision by the Durban High Court to exclude levies from the National Credit Act debt counselling process was also good news for estate agents and property managers.
“That decision means companies such as Trafalgar do not have to refer to debt counsellors when seeking levies due from owners – and correspondingly that errant owners cannot hide behind debt counselling as an excuse for not paying their bodies corporate levies.”
Tags: council for debt collectors, debt collectors, south africa
Posted in Debt News, Financial News, International Debt News | No Comments »
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
Lending for house purchases has increased by 45% year on year in March, making it the ninth consecutive month of year-on-year growth, according to figures which were released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders yesterday.
However, remortgaging saw a drop of 29% for year on year which was the 23rd consecutive annual fall, a clear indication of the growing trend in a recovering house purchasing market, and a falling remortgaging market.
According to the CML there were 45,000 loans taken out in March for the purpose of purchasing a house which was a rise of 25% in volume from February, with a further 28,000 loans taken out for remortgaging, up 23% in volume. With values of £6.3billion and £3.5billion respectively (increases of 24% and 21% in value on February) it is certainly worth shouting about and shows the value of the housing market.
Looking at the first quarter as a whole, there were 112,000 loans for house purchase (worth £16.1 billion), down from 171,000 (worth £23.3 billion) in the last quarter of 2009 and 74,000 remortgage loans (worth £9.3 billion) down from 89,000 (worth £11.1 billion) in the last three months of 2009. No trend can be inferred from this though, given the distortion caused by the end of the stamp duty holiday in December.
There has also been a greater rise of first time buyers compared to those moving to another home with 17,300 loans to first-time buyers (worth £2 billion) in March which was a rise of 27% on February and 42% on March 2009, compared to 27,500 home-mover loans (worth £4.3 billion) which was a rise of 24% on February and 49% on March of 2009.
For the second month running, March also saw first-time buyers borrow an average of 76% of the property price. This is the first time average deposits for first-time buyers have been lower than 25% for more than one month since January 2009. Only time will tell if this genuinely reflects a tentative sign of easing, but for the time being deposit constraints remain tight in all areas of lending.
For those with the deposits needed, low rates have made home loans initially very affordable. Home movers in March needed less than 10% of gross income to cover their mortgage interest payments. This is unchanged from February and is the lowest amount since the CML started recording this data in 1974.
First-time buyers have not seen quite as much benefit reflecting the fact that the best priced deals are available only to those with larger deposits. But even so, in the first three months of 2010, they needed just 13.3% of their income to cover their interest payments, the lowest since 2004.
In terms of product choice, only 46% of new loans were fixed-rate deals in March. This has remained broadly unchanged for the first three months of 2010, but is down from 60% in the last quarter of 2009 and a peak of 80% last July. Tracker rates accounted for 37% of new mortgage lending, again broadly unchanged, but up from last July’s low of 12%.
Michael Coogan, Director General of the CML said, “Today’s figures indicate there is currently some momentum to house purchase lending, but for the sake of the future health of the housing and mortgage markets, the new government will need to focus on the critical issue of funding and how to address the issues arising from the repayment of the emergency support provided during the financial crisis.
“The UK is at risk of a chronic under-supply of credit – and the rationing of mortgages for customers – for years to come.”
Tags: first time buyers, Lending for house Purchases, Mortgage Lending
Posted in Financial News | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, April 20th, 2010
CREDIT card customers of Scottish bank Halifax, who are unable to pay off their card balance or switch to another provider before the bank closes in June, have been given a new option to clear their accounts.
Customers will be able to pay off the balance at a cost of 10pc, which is below the existing 13.4pc interest rate on the Halifax credit cards.
There will be an option to pay off as little as 3pc of the outstanding balance each month, similar to a minimum payment amount on a credit card.
A spokesman for the bank, which had 50,000 credit card customers when it announced it was closing earlier this year, said those who did not clear their card balance by June 18 would automatically be given the new repayment arrangement.
The bank insisted that the new deal was not a personal loan, but instead a variation on their existing credit card deal with the bank.
This means there will be no need for those with credit card balances to apply to Halifax for a loan to clear the balances.
Halifax/Bank of Scotland (Ireland) is still encouraging customers to pay off their balances or switch to another credit card provider by June 18 when it closes its 44 Halifax branches. From that date, the credit cards will no longer work.
Repayment
But customers in arrears with their credit card payments may not be able to avail of the new repayment offer.
A spokesman for the Scottish bank said that anyone who was one month in arrears on their card repayments would be offered the new deal. Those who were up to three months in arrears needed to contact the bank to discuss the situation.
But those who were four months or more in arrears were unlikely to be offered the repayment arrangements and would probably end up with their card debt being passed on to the debt collection division of the bank, the spokesman said.
The bank said it was pleased with the number of card customers who had switched providers ahead of the closure, but would not say how many had switched.
It added that customers with payment protection insurance on their credit card could continue to pay this until their balance was cleared.
Tags: credit card debt, Halifax
Posted in Debt News, Financial News | No Comments »
Friday, April 9th, 2010
The final session of one of the most scandalised parliaments in history ended with the passing of bills designed to protect third world countries from unscrupulous debt collection practices, prevent under-18s using sunbeds, and improve personal care at home.
About 20 bills were passed in a marathon 48-hour wash-up session ahead of the election. Labour claimed victories in the crackdown on “vulture funds” in the developing world, the outlawing of the previously legal high mephedrone, and sunbeds for under-18s.
But they were forced to make dramatic concessions to get other bills through. The constitutional reform and governance bill was radically trimmed, losing key reforms Labour has been promising since 1997, and the education bill lost reforms to the schools system.
Other bills fell foul of the wash-up, with a public outcry over the version of the digital economy bill which finally received royal assent that allows internet service providers to cut access to illegal file sharers. One operator tonight said it would not comply with the measures.
Unusually high numbers of MPs were in the Commons to witness the final prorogation of parliament – the formal ceremony concluding each session. Parliament will be officially dissolved on Monday.
The Liberal Democrats criticised the drastic slimming down of the constitutional reform and government bill to get it through parliament. It was stripped of plans for a referendum on a more proportional electoral system using an alternative vote system. A proposal to phase out the last hereditary peers was also postponed in order for the bill to receive royal assent in time.
The Liberal Democrat justice spokesman David Howarth rounded on ministers and their Tory shadows accusing them of “collusion” in the “wash-up” period and producing a “disaster” of a reform bill.
Tags: debt collection, dissolution, Labour, parliament
Posted in Debt News, Financial News | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010
LexisNexis(R) Risk Solutions today announced the availability of LexisNexis(R) Banko(R) Events Monitoring, a new feature available with the LexisNexis(R) Receivables Management Solutions suite that automates the process of monitoring bankruptcy events and helps collections organizations improve efficiency, reduce cost and identify new sources of revenue. In preliminary customer trials, the solution is proven to save collections agencies and first-party debt collectors 50 percent or more on costs associated with manually monitoring bankruptcy events.
“In our current economic environment, bankruptcies are increasing like never before, and collections professionals need access to the most current, comprehensive data possible in order to collect on accounts and reduce loss exposure,” said Robert Fite, vice president, LexisNexis Receivables Management Solutions. “LexisNexis Banko Events Monitoring allows collections professionals to focus on the business of making decisions, increasing efficiency and profitability.”
The number of people and businesses filing for bankruptcy is increasing at a staggering pace — 1.4 million petitions were submitted in 2009, a 32 percent increase from 2008. With the number of bankruptcy cases increasing dramatically, it is vital for collections professionals to monitor bankruptcy events such as attempts to have a court forgive certain debts, to have an accurate picture of their debt portfolio. Every time they want to check status on a debtor, collections professionals must conduct manual, labor-intensive searches using PACER, the federal court case electronic access system.
Banko Events Monitoring helps debt collectors overcome this problem by automating the monitoring process of bankruptcy events. The solution works by automatically monitoring every daily court docket entry for every bankruptcy case, and then provides collections organizations with relevant information on the debtors and events they need to track. As a result, collections organizations are empowered with information they need to make better and faster decisions about debt recovery. In addition, users save costs associated with purchasing individual PACER reports, improve employee productivity, minimize the need for manual investigations, and reduce their loss exposure.
In a beta trial of Banko Events Monitoring conducted with nine clients across several industries, including a collections agency, mortgage lender and automotive lender, the solution delivered average savings of 50 percent when compared to the cost of manually searching for bankruptcy events. To cite one example, an auto loan company had historically only been able to monitor approximately 7,500 of their 43,500 active bankrupt accounts. Banko Events Monitoring enabled the company to monitor all 43,500 of their active accounts — and for less than half the cost of manually searching 17 percent of the prior caseload.
LexisNexis Banko Events Monitoring is a key component of the LexisNexis Receivables Management solutions suite that helps collections businesses minimize unnecessary operational expenses and focus their efforts on the most collectible accounts. Banko Events Monitoring is an added functionality to Banko(R), a fully customizable solution that allows businesses to search comprehensive nationwide bankruptcy databases to quickly identify new filings and recently deceased individuals.
About LexisNexis
LexisNexis(R) (www.lexisnexis.com) is a leading global provider of information and services solutions, including its flagship Web-based Lexis(R) and Nexis(R) research services, to a wide range of professionals in the legal, risk management, corporate, government, law enforcement, accounting and academic markets. A member of Reed Elsevier [NYSE:ENL; NYSE:RUK] (www.reedelsevier.com), LexisNexis serves customers in 100 countries with 15,000 employees worldwide.
About LexisNexis Risk Solutions
LexisNexis(R) Risk Solutions is the leader in providing essential information that helps advance industry and society. Building on the legacy of proven LexisNexis(R) services from the past 30 years, our cutting-edge technology, unique data and advanced scoring analytics provide total solutions that address evolving client needs in the risk sector while upholding high standards of security and privacy. LexisNexis Risk Solutions serves commercial organizations and government agencies and is comprised of several affiliated corporations, each offering premier customer-focused solutions. For more information, visit risk.lexisnexis.com.
SOURCE: LexisNexis Risk Solutions
Tags: banruptcy, debt collection solutions, lexis nexis
Posted in Debt News, Financial News, International Debt News | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
LEAD GENERATOR
Description
We are an ambitious and fast growing National Credit Management company. We currently have a requirement for a dynamic and assertive sales individual for the purpose of lead generation.
Key duties will include:
- Direct contact with new & existing clients.
- Lead generation via tele-sales campaigns.
- Generation of appointments for field sales representatives.
- Dealing with inbound and outbound telephone enquiries.
- Professional with excellent telephone manner.
- Superb communication skills and have a great attention to detail.
- Work in accordance with all relevant legislation.
Candidates must be well organised and commercially astute. Contribute to the development of the organization by working in accordance with company policies and procedures. Candidates will be required to identify and attend relevant training as required, undergo regular supervision and annual appraisal.
This vacancy is due to the substantial growth of our organisation. To be successful in your application you must be able to demonstrate a proven track record in sales, lead generation and client management. This is a wonderful opportunity for the right candidate to join an already established and successful company.
Knowledge of ACT software or the Debt Collection industry a distinct advantage but not essential.
This position has a fantastic basic salary and commission structure.
How to apply
You can apply for this job by sending a CV/written application to Phil Glaiser at Federal Management Ltd, Federal House, 1C Maple Court Maple View, Skelmesdale, Lancashire, WN8 9TG or to pg@federalmanagement.co.uk.
Tags: Debt Collection Jobs, federal management, Sales, Telesales
Posted in Debt News, Financial News, International Debt News | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
For the second time in less than a year, the New Jersey Assembly will consider legislation concerning the debt collection bill.
It is being argued that revising the Fair Debt Collections Act would help eliminate harassing, intimidating and abusive debt collection practices and it would also give those being chased a way to dispute and validate debt information to ensure its accuracy.
The legislation was scheduled to be voted upon on Monday but no longer appeared on the Assembly’s legislative agenda late Sunday night, would enhance additional federal protections and limit collectors’ ability to contact a debtor at work — except under certain circumstances — or at “any time and place” known to be inconvenient.
Assemblyman John Burzichelli, D-Paulsboro, said “We’re doing nothing here to relieve a consumer of a rightful debt, but this is a fairness bill that’s needed more than ever to ensure consumers aren’t harassed by unscrupulous debt collectors.” Mr Burzichelli is sponsoring the move alongside fellow Assemblymen Matthew W. Milam, D-Cape May Court House, Wayne P. DeAngelo, D-Hamilton and Paul Moriarty, D-Turnersville.
Mr Moriarty said “Just because someone is in debt does not mean they forfeit their rights to be treated fairly. Debt collectors may have a responsibility to get consumers to make good on what they owe, but they also have an obligation to treat consumers with respect and within the law.”
If approved the amended bill would prohibit, with limited exceptions, a debt collector from communicating with a debtor:
- earlier than 8 a.m. and later than 9 p.m.
- at the debtor’s place of employment, although the collector may send a single letter or make one phone call per month to a debtor’s place of employment if the debt collector hasn’t been able to contact the debtor at home.
- if the debt collector knows the debtor is represented by an attorney and can readily ascertain that attorney’s name and address.
If found to be abusing these rules, the offenders could be fined upto $10,000 for a first offence and then up to $20,000 for each subsequent offence. Violations could also result in cease and desist orders issued by the state Attorney General’s office and the awarding of treble damages, attorneys’ fees and legal costs to the injured party.
When originally looked at in July of 2009 Assembly members overwhelmingly approved the measure but it died when the state Senate failed to act on it before the last legislative session ended in January. If it’s passed again, the debt collection bill would go back to the senate for its consideration.
Tags: assembly, debt collection, fair debt collections act, new jersey
Posted in Debt News, Financial News, International Debt News | No Comments »
Thursday, March 18th, 2010
The government has made overpayments to 1.6 million people through the benefits system and is struggling with debt recovery of £1.85bn that it is owed, a report from a committee of MPs concludes today.
Families on low incomes are being forced into debt to pay back the cash, the Commons spending committee said.
Some 50,000 people owe £5,000-£10,000, 23,000 owe £10,000-£20,000 and 8,600 owe more than £20,000 to the government after mistakes in the payments system.
The most common error is failure to reduce payments after claimants’ earnings increase but the scale of the inefficiency in the system is revealed by the fact that hundreds of thousands of people have experienced more than one mistake.
The report from the public accounts committee is released as the government receives an unexpected pre-election boost this morning as the number of people claiming unemployment benefit posted its biggest fall since 1997.
Ministers will today announce further work placements to help young people into a career.
The rising numbers of people indebted by the benefits system is a result of the government getting better at identifying where people have been overpaid – suggesting that millions has gone unaccounted for in the past.
While the amount of money reclaimed is also increasing, it is not keeping pace with the soaring level of debt identified. People are also increasingly struggling to repay the money in the recession.
In 2007-08 some £9.3m in small overpayments were written off because the amount was too small to spend the money retrieving the cash.
In contrast some 8,600 people face the most serious debts of over £20,000. Ministers are considering selling off some or all of the debt to the private sector, but the MPs on the committee warn that any sale should include safeguards for the welfare of vulnerable debt collection customers to avoid debt collectors or bailiffs cracking down on people who have been unwillingly overpaid.
The department does not have a reliable mechanism for assessing what level of debt recovery repayment people who have been overpaid can afford, leaving the process open to abuse, the report says.
Edward Leigh, the chair of the committee, said: “The current economic malaise is only likely to make worse the rate at which debt can be recovered.
“If the department is to deal with this rising trend in benefit debt, then it has to improve the way it approaches the prevention of debt. It should also review its procedures for validating claims for income support, a benefit which is particularly susceptible to big overpayments. It needs to set targets to reduce the debt owed by claimants with multiple and high-value debts, as well as targets for the difficult process of recovering money from claimants who regularly move on and off benefits.”
Theresa May, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “Labour need to get a grip. It is unforgivable that while taxpayers are tightening their belts the government is racking up more debt through poor administration. These figures are symptomatic of a benefits system that isn’t working.”
A DWP spokesperson said: “The report recognises that DWP’s debt management operations have improved, with recovery increasing from around £180m in 2005-06 to over £280m in 2008-09. Additionally 97% of the benefits paid out in 2008-09 were paid out correctly.
“Our new task force will address debtors who owe the department over £10,000 and we can take them to court if necessary. However, we accept that there is more we can do and so we will consider the committee’s recommendations carefully.”
Jim Knight, the employment minister, will today unveil the latest 7,000 jobs for 18-24-year-olds under the Future Jobs Fund, which pays employers up to £6,000 to take young people on. The new positions include jobs as sports coaches, youth workers, solar panel installers, and classroom assistants.
Tags: Benefits, debt collection, debt recovery, Government
Posted in Debt News, Financial News | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Late invoice payment and outstanding debts is an issue that continues to cast a shadow over many parts of the UK Business Community with some alarming figures being released relating to the number of companies that are being forced into liquidation and administration despite being owed considerable sums of money. Yet this need not be the case providing expedient and cost effective steps are taken to recover outstanding debts.
One Company that has an excellent reputation for dealing with serious matters such as the Collection of outstanding debts is Federal Management. This Lancashire based Business has their Head Office in Skelmersdale as well as offices in London, and operate their renowned Debt Collection Services across the UK & EU, recovering Millions of Pounds every year for their clients. They are only too aware of the problems facing UK Businesses with regards to late payments and outstanding invoices etc as well as the need to maintain existing business relationships where possible.
Federal Management began life in 2004 by initially delivering their Debt Collection services to predominantly small businesses up and down the UK but their growth quickly gathered momentum as word spread of their low cost services. A development of existing services along with continued internal development has seen them emerge as one of the UK’s Leading Commercial Debt Collection Companies.
One of the key elements to Federal Management’s success has been the high level of internal investment. Thousands of pounds have been spent on cutting edge technology that gives them the edge over their competitors as well as the ongoing training of existing personnel ensures that they deliver a service that is professional and quickly gets results. Attention to detail and highly diligent staff ensure the potential of recovering monies owing is at a much higher level than normal. The professional management systems they employ saw them awarded the ISO9001 accreditation in January.
They boast a highly experienced and dedicated Collections Team that deal solely with the pursuit of outstanding Debts and are relentless in their efforts. In addition to the Collections Team, they also have an Internal Legal Team to deal with disputed Debts and have Professional Collection Officers to visit Debtors who ignore demands for payment.
Such has been the success of Federal Management, in early 2009 they were awarded a place on the High Growth Programme, a Government backed scheme led by the North West Development Agency to aid the growth and development of ‘High Growth’ Businesses. This will aid their expansion and growth as they continue to go from strength to strength.
Marc Curtis-Smith, Managing Director of the Company says “At Federal Management, as members of the Credit Services Association, we pride ourselves on delivering a highly professional service to our clients and coupled with our High Collection rates, has been the main reason for our success. We have literally hundreds of clients that benefit from the services that we offer, from Large PLC’s to local small Businesses.”
“Quite simply, the service that we offer is unrivalled as we provide a low fixed cost service that delivers results and is one of the reasons why we have been so successful. We even have a considerable number of Law firms that use our services to recover their debts and this gives good testament to our ability to deliver a highly professional service at a fraction of the time and cost one would normally associate with recovering bad debts”
Concludes Marc “We are proud to say that the greatest form of advertisement for our services is simply ‘word of mouth’. Our services are designed to maximize the prospect of a successful collection of Debts whilst minimizing the cost to our clients. Anybody that is experiencing debtor or late payment problems should contact us sooner rather than later.”
For further information on Federal Management and how they can help your business, simply call them free on 0800 043 6922 and take the first steps to recovering your money back.
Tags: Commercial, debt collection, debt recovery, federal management
Posted in Debt News, Financial News | No Comments »
Monday, March 8th, 2010
The total amount of net lending to individuals in the UK rose by £2.0 billion pounds in January. This is a growth rate of 0.8% for the 12 month period leading into the month. The figures were revealed in the recent “Bank of England’s Lending to Individuals: January 2010 report.”
The three-month annualised growth rate was 1.3%, a 0.4 percentage point increase from a revised 0.9% for December. Within the total, net lending secured on dwellings increased by £1.5 billion, above the December increase of £1.2 billion and the previous six-month average of £1.0 billion.
The news is likely to be viewed as positive within the debt collection industry as people start to loan again the chances of bad debt accruing will increase alongside it.
The twelve-month growth rate ticked up to 1.0%, from 0.9% in December. The three-month annualised growth rate rose to 1.4%. The number of loan approvals for house purchase (48,198) was lower than the December figure (58,223) and below the previous six-month average (55,924); approvals for remortgaging (23,611) and for other purposes (23,035) were also lower than in December and lower than their respective six-month averages.
Consumer credit increased by £0.5 billion, above the previous six-month average of a net repayment of £0.2 billion, and also above December’s net increase of £0.3 billion. Credit card lending increased by £0.2 billion and other loans and advances increased by £0.3 billion. The annual growth rate of consumer credit was less negative at -0.2%; the three-month annualised growth rate increased to 0.7%.
If you or your company has debt recovery requirements then call Federal Management FREE today on 0800 043 6922 and take the first steps in recovering your bad debts.
Tags: Bank of England, Loans, UK Growth, UK Net Lending
Posted in Debt News, Financial News | No Comments »
|
|
|
|
|
