Evening the Odds
31 January 2022
Online gambling is a growing market. So why isn’t regulation keeping up to protect customers? We need default safety settings – here’s why.
31 January 2022
Online gambling is a growing market. So why isn’t regulation keeping up to protect customers? We need default safety settings – here’s why.
02 September 2021
Problems in the buy now pay later (BNPL) customer journey are leaving users being referred to debt collectors - but they aren’t being warned about this risk at the checkout.
22 April 2021
Millions of people have used a buy now pay later product in the last year - but the customer journey needs to be better designed to protect people from harm and stop people from slipping into problems
27 January 2021
Coronavirus has pushed millions into financial hardship. The pandemic and the restrictions put in place to control it, have had a dramatic impact on household finances. Many people have been made redundant, furloughed, become too ill to work or have taken time off to care for a loved one. Nearly 1 in 3 households have lost income because of coronavirus, meaning people are struggling to pay bills and are falling into debt. Council tax is one of the bills that people have been struggling with the most. We estimate that over 3.5 million people are currently behind on council tax.
30 October 2020
We estimate that households are facing £1.6 billion in household bill arrears built up during the pandemic.
28 October 2020
Our response to the Cabinet Office call for evidence on government debt collection practice.
20 October 2020
Millions of people now face new coronavirus restrictions on the way they live and work but do not have equivalent protections from the financial hardships that come with them.
13 October 2020
In this report we show the impact of coronavirus on the finances of people we help with debt. We outline measures that the Government should take to avoid a national household debt crisis and support the UK’s longer-term economic recovery.
08 September 2020
An estimated 6 million people have fallen behind on their household bills as a result of coronavirus, many of whom will struggle to repay their coronavirus debts. The government must step in with financial support.
25 June 2020
An estimated 1.3 million people have fallen behind on council tax due to coronavirus. Policy change is needed now so that people who have helped the country control coronavirus aren’t pushed further into debt by court proceedings and the use of bailiffs.
01 May 2020
An estimated 6 million people have fallen behind on a bill due to coronavirus. Policy change is needed now to prevent a financial cliff-edge, help people out of debt, and support the economic recovery.
25 February 2020
Council tax collection is driving people further into debt and doesn’t work. These regulations must be amended to work for people in debt and councils.
12 February 2020
This report looks at the growing problem of negative budgets - who has one, why they do, and how their finances could be improved.
02 December 2019
Our Freedom of Information request on how local authorities collect council tax arrears
20 May 2019
Our response to the Gambling Commission’s call for evidence about the use of credit cards for online gambling.
25 April 2019
Council tax is increasingly a cause of financial difficulty and problem debt, and problems arrears cause are particularly stark due to how debts are collected.
18 February 2019
Our call for evidence response to the Ministry of Justice which calls for the regulation of the bailiff industry
09 January 2019
Making a complaint about a bailiff is difficult and ineffective. People saw bailiffs break the rules 850,000 time in the last two years but only 56 bailiffs have been held to account at court since 2014. There needs to be an independent regulator supported by an independent complaints mechanism to oversee the sector.
13 November 2018
We wanted to understand how common poor practice in the bailiff industry was. Our polling found that 850,000 people have seen bailiffs break the rules in the past two years.
21 August 2018
Despite rapid growth, a large stock of hidden debt - money owed to government and essential service providers has often been ignored.