The news that two member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee voted in favour of an increase on interest rates at their August meeting would suggest that the historic low rates are nearing their end. We’ve written before about the possible impact of rising rates, however gradually, on businesses and consumers who are managing, just, their repayments. Once variable loan rates start to increase, whether o
All the evidence is that small- and medium-sized companies are still finding it hard to borrow from the traditional source of business capital, the banks, to expand. Now, one of the few global internet businesses that encourages small firms, rather than trying to obliterate or buy up all the competition, has come up with an alternative source of cash. So often, the business plan for digital firms involves emulating A
If I told you that small and medium-sized companies were owed nearly £40 billion as a result of late payments, I think you’d be rightly shocked. But the figure of £39.4 billion comes from the latest research by BACS Payment Schemes, the direct debit company. Such is the scale of the debt burden on SMEs, up from £30bn last year, 60% told BACS they were experiencing late payments with the average company waiting for £3
If I said that spending about £30 could save your business from computer viruses that can give criminals access to your bank account and lock you out of the files essential to your work, I’m sure you’d agree it was money well spent. So I wonder how many of you ignored the advice in June from the National Crime Agency to install or update your anti-virus and malware protection to safeguard your computer from GameOver
Business minister Jenny Willott held the threat of legislation in reserve this week when she announced plans to clean up pre-pack insolvency deals intended to ‘make sure that businesses and customers get a better deal from failing companies’. She said the government would implement in full the recommendations of regulation expert Teresa Graham’s review of such deals. This was ordered by her boss, business secr
In the collections industry, there’s always a balance to be struck between enabling creditors to receive the money due to them and helping debtors to get back on their own two feet. That’s a point made in an editor’s letter in CCR Magazine that suggests one obstacle to this is the cost to individuals of entering bankruptcy (remembering that companies in trouble go into liquidation, a different process). It followed n
The powers of bailiffs to enter a property to seize goods where a debt has not been repaid are often exaggerated. But I’m equally sure that some less scrupulous bailiffs have played on debtors’ ignorance of what is and is not permitted. One of the ways in which the new regulation of the collections industry has brought clarity to both sides is in the clear statement of what is, and is not, permitted. You can read thi
A change to the law has stopped commercial landlords using the 800-year-old ‘remedy of distress’ to collect rent arrears from business tenants. It’s all part of the changes to bring clarity to the entry rights of bailiffs as the collections industry becomes regulated. But pub property agents, for starters, believe the changes are not well understood, according to a report in the publican’s online newspaper, the Morni
The news has been full this week with story about the tougher new rules for people applying to take out a mortgage. There’s been some consternation at the idea that lenders might want to know how much people spend on toiletries or gym membership. These are, it seems to be emerging in the comments from banks and building societies about how the Mortgage Market Review rules will work, extreme examples of a concer
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