Lowell's Debt Download
Welcome to Lowell’s Debt Download, our regular LinkedIn newsletter. Here we explore topics that impact the credit sector and those dealing with problem debt. Our mission? To create a community where knowledge is shared and connections are strengthened.
In this edition, read about:
Keep your eyes peeled later in September for our Debt Download Special Edition, bringing you the latest sector insights from the upcoming Labour Party Conference.
Fairer Debt, Fairer Society
Following the UK General Election in July, we launched our Fairer Debt, Fairer Society campaign, ready to help the new Government fully understand the challenges facing millions of people in debt and to reshape the credit system so it works in everyone’s interests. We don’t just need the next UK Government to listen and understand. We need action. And that’s where our three ASKS come in:
1. Fairer Local Authority Debt Collection
2. Statutory Bailiff Regulation
3. Modernisation of the Consumer Credit Act
Our UK CEO John Pears adds: “We’re ready to help the Government fully understand the challenges facing millions of people in problem debt and reshape the credit system so that it works in everyone’s favour. They must now put words into action and deliver on the transformative national change they have promised.”
“Local Authorities often rely on aggressive, inflexible debt collection practices to try and recover debts like unpaid rent, council tax, and housing benefit overpayments. This heavy-handed treatment doesn’t work for debtors, and it doesn’t work for councils.?We want to see the highest standards from the private sector and Government applied to Local Authority debt collection. We believe that this will help reduce the stigma around debt, drive up engagement across the industry and improve outcomes for people in the UK who are struggling with problem debt."
“More than a million people find themselves dealing with bailiffs every year. With rising numbers of people in arrears or in debt, getting bailiff regulation right is more important now than ever before. We want to ensure that where bailiffs are used, they consistently meet the highest standards. This means all bailiffs across the country treating people with the care and respect they deserve. We want to raise standards across the industry by putting the new Enforcement Conduct Board, overseeing standards in the industry, on a statutory footing."
“We want to help make life easier for people in debt by prioritising reform of the Consumer Credit Act in the next Government. The Consumer Credit Act passed into law in July 1974. At 50 years old, it’s understandably out of kilter with the modern digital world. Outdated and cumbersome, it’s confusing for consumers and adds unnecessary costs to businesses. In short, we want to see the CCA reimagined to fit the demands of consumers as we move deeper into the 21st century.”
46% of young gamblers have used debt to fund betting activity
Latest research from Lowell shows that 46% of young gamblers have used credit to fund betting activity, double that of the UK average.
Our data revealed that people aged 25-34 were 2.2 times as likely to experience financial vulnerability, and this age bracket are 2.8 times more likely to see gambling as a quick fix to money problems than the average UK resident.
Our report surveyed 1000 people in the UK around gambling and how it impacts their overall credit use.
Many 25-34-year-old respondents also carried out actions which could negatively affect the financial health of friends and families, with an alarming 18% borrowing funds from their friends and family without their awareness, and 17% using a joint credit card to cover the costs left from gambling expenses.
The impact of Council Tax debt on those in vulnerable situations
Non-payment of council tax has risen to an alarming level in recent years, and we’re proud to have supported partners The Centre for Social Justice on their important report, Still Collecting Dust.
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As part of our mission to make credit work better for all we have been strong supporters of their debt unit for many years.
During that time, we’ve seen first-hand how damaging council tax debt can be for people in vulnerable situations.
We welcome the CSJ’s decision to focus on these issues in their new report. We strongly support their calls to:
Council tax debt can be a minefield, but higher standards and fairer collection could make a world of difference.
Putting customers at the heart of what we do: Consumer Duty one year on
A year has passed since we introduced Consumer Duty, the principle that ensures our Customers are always our top priority, as guided by the FCA.
Leading up to the launch in July 2023, we undertook a comprehensive business-wide project, completing over 250 actions, in order to set ourselves up for success. Since then, we’ve kept that momentum going, embedding the new requirements and taking clear actions to stay on track. As part of our commitment, we’ve also produced an annual board report to assess and demonstrate our compliance with Consumer Duty, something which every business has been asked to do.
Here are the actions we’ve taken and the areas we will be focusing on:
Caroline Marsh, one of our Non-Executive Directors, sums up our journey so far:
“Implementing Consumer Duty and compiling the first annual report has been a challenging but really useful exercise. It’s encouraged us to bring together and scrutinise data that existed in different parts of the business but hadn’t been brought together in one place. In turn that’s enabled us to evidence clearly how we’re delivering good outcomes for our millions of customers and to identify where we can improve. It’s very easy to sigh when new regulations come into force but, in the case of Consumer Duty, it definitely feels like it’s provoking the right conversations across organisations and in the Boardroom. If this leads to more customers getting better value products backed up by better service, then everyone’s better off.”
Q2 2024 results have landed
Last week, we published our results for Q2 24, as announced to our bondholder community by Group CEO Colin Storrar and Group Finance Director Jamie Wilson.
Commenting on the announcement Colin Storrar, said:
“Our results continue to demonstrate the strength of our collection franchises across Europe. The operational ability and resilience of the business, coupled with the continued deployment of capital at attractive and accretive returns, ensures Lowell remains a key leader across the CMS sector.
“Collections continue to outperform expectation and the recent DACH portfolio sales provide the Group with enhanced liquidity as we look to address the Group’s refinancing requirement across H2 as guided.”
Highlights included:
Curriculum developer, education researcher, writing tutor, editor and proofreader, Nursing education researcher. #opentowork #abuse #survivor and #cannabis patient
6 个月I’m an MS patient who has to pay for my own medication. I was bullied out of my job and have no money. I can’t pay you. Please stop harassing me.