IntroductionWith many consumers struggling with their debt commitments, lenders have seen an increase in bad debts prompting them to take a number of measures to deal with the situation.
So, how indebted are consumers? How serious is the issue? What measures are consumer credit providers and mortgage lenders adopting to improve the quality of their lending portfolio? This report provides the answers.ScopeCovers both the unsecured and secured lending markets including credit cards, unsecured personal loans and mortgages.Examines how consumer debt has increased over the years and how the IVA, bankruptcy and Debt Management Plan industries are growing.Analyses bad debt management strategies among retail lenders.Covers the debt collection sector.Report HighlightsIVA companies have been keen to promote IVAs as a solution for debt-laden consumers via heavy advertising through various channels such as TV, radio, newspapers, yellow pages and the Internet.
For instance, the CCCS mentioned that Debt Free Direct - a major IVA-specialized company - spent on average £1,500 in advertising per IVA client in 2004.The Banking Code Standards Board has introduced new rules to strengthen its code of practice.
While it is a positive step towards tackling overindebtedness and curbing bad debts in the future, it may be a case of 'too little too late' for the minority of customers who are already saddled with huge amounts of debts.Lenders such as Abbey, Barclays and Egg are targeting those credit card customers who are borrowing on their credit card over a long-term period and have accumulated high balances on their card to consolidate their credit card debt into an unsecured loan.
This approach enables the lender to better manage bad debts.Reasons to PurchaseLearn about your competitors' strategies to curb bad debt in the futureLearn about your competitors' strategies to recover bad debtGain a thorough insight into the issue of increased consumer debt in the UK