I am up for helping my community by shortening my lunch break to give them a few tips on how to manage their bills. As a Debt Talk podcaster on BBC Sussex, I provided quick, sound advice on water bills, council tax, and credit reports to my community. Credit rating: First, you need to register to vote. Registering to vote means you are a legitimate person in the public record. Second, open a bank account—a standard bank account - where you put regular income and take it out when you want to. This also helps creditors to get familiar with your whereabouts and you will be on their credit file. Third, without you realising it, you may find that you are already on the credit file just by paying for your water, gas, and telephone bills. Once you are on it and paying direct debit regularly, you are getting closer to gaining exposure to credit reference agencies. You just then need to show that you are credit-worthy to pay back the loan or credit card you are thinking of borrowing. Simple!

  Monthly Debt News looks at debts and the causes of debts in Britain from a variety of sources selected for professionals to make the debt sector simple. This month’s Debt News includes Thames Water hiring advisers amid fear of collapse, a student loan debt near £240,000,    a debt relief orders fee axed, an increase in unsecured debts,  fake debt collectors stealing money and Kate Garraway facing debt for her late husband’s care. There are also bite-sized statistics to give an overview of the causes of debts  in Britain. You can also catch up with previous Debt Talk podcasts.  ——————— Debt News  ——————— Thames Water hires restructuring advisers amid fears of collapse Thames Water has assembled a team of City experts to lead urgent restructuring talks this week amid fears that its parent company may collapse by the end of the month. More here: Link  ——————— UK’s highest student loan debt exceeds £230,000, new figures show The graduate with the most unpaid student debt in t

Introducing Consumer Duty principles by the Financial Conduct Authority resulted in a dramatic shift from treating customers fairly to focusing on customer outcomes, which requires a readjustment of thinking for many regulated firms in Britain. To navigate such an insightful subject on the Debt Talk podcast, Ripon Ray invited distinguished experts from research and consultancy, debt recovery, and the advice sector. Kathy Ellison from Savanta, a research and consultancy firm, explained how some regulated firms had changed their governance structure, consumer terms and conditions, communications and marketing, and dealing with vulnerable consumers. Savanta's research showed that although many firms have significantly addressed regulatory expectations to benefit consumers, some work is still needed to improve consumer outcomes. Bob Winnington of the Money Advice Liaison Group emphasised the importance of delivering world-class service. He explained how the group brought different re

  Monthly Debt News looks at debts and the causes of debts in Britain to simplify the debt sector for all. This month’s Debt News includes the closing of the British Gas Individual and Families Fund, a call for Social Tariff by Scotland,    parents fined for taking children out of school,   t hree-quarters of court fines unpaid by criminals, UK credit card complaints record high and Newcastle co-owner in court for bankruptcy. And finally, bitesize stats to get an overview of the causes of debt. You can also catch up with monthly Debt Talk podcasts.  ——————— The exact date £2,000 energy grants from the UK’s biggest supplier will END – how to get the ‘lifeline’ bill help now The British Gas Individual and Families fund will end for some people in just days.  The fund was first set up in 2021 to help households struggling with  energy debt . More here: Link    ——————— Scotland calls for UK-wide social energy tariff Scotland’s national advice service advocates for a UK-wide social energy t

Birmingham Council went bankrupt and accelerated its debt recovery to collect council tax and other fines by 500% between 2022 and 2023. It was revealed under the Freedom of Information Request. Other councils throughout the United Kingdom also use enforcement agents to recover unpaid debts since many are overstretched with their finances. To highlight the severity of this issue in this month's podcast on Debt Talk, Ripon Ray explored: 'Council finance, tax & debt recovery’. To assist him with the subject, Helen Ganney from Christians Against Poverty explained the challenges the debt advice sector faces in negotiating with some councils when many clients have insufficient funds to pay council tax debts and are in a deficit budget. Yet, there have been challenges with them and their agents to accept minimal payment or to hold enforcement action. She emphasised that many of these agents focus on collecting debts whilst not considering whether some residents can afford to pa

Monthly Debt News looks at debts and the causes of debts in Britain from various sources selected for professionals to make the debt sector simple. This month’s Debt News includes councils warning MPs the fear of bankruptcy,   MPs recommend councils should not be chasing debters who are unable to afford to pay debts, a rise in enforcement agents by £20% to recover council tax debts, mortgage defaults jump since Christmas and a student chased for a student loan that she had not borrowed. There are also bitesize stats to get an overview of the causes of debts in Britain. You can also catch up with previous Debt Talk podcasts if you have missed them.  ——————— News:  ——————— More than 50 councils warn MPs of bankruptcy fears over emergency housing costs One council said it had seen its emergency housing costs almost quadruple over the last six years  More here: Link  ——————— Council tax – councils should not be chasing arrears from households that can least afford it, say MPs The Governmen